In the last year and a half, the simple act of walking has taken on even more importance, oddly thanks to the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic that made socially-distanced outdoor exertions one of the few ways of getting both exercise and relaxation. Admittedly, sometimes a walk is just the means for getting from one place to another. But a simple walk has also offered the opportunity to escape into one’s own thoughts in silent reverie or to possibly accompany those thoughts with music on personal devices and headphones.
For Ellen Reid, the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning composer and Oak Ridge native, the pandemic offered an opportunity to complete an idea that she had had for several years—music for a GPS-enabled app designed to accompany and complement specific walking environments. The project app called SOUNDWALK has already been implemented in a number of parks, including the premiere in New York’s Central Park, Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, Elizabeth River Trail and Wolf Trap in Virginia, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, and Stavros Niarchos Park in Athens, Greece, among several others.
On Wednesday, September 8, Knoxville’s Ijams Nature Center will join the list of active locations of Soundwalk thanks to the sponsorship of Big Ears Festival. Like all of the installations, the Ijams version has been adapted to suit the particular environment, in this case, the network of trails and destinations at Ijams. The work consists of Reid’s music created for the project and recorded by her own ensemble, along with the Kronos Quartet.
The idea behind Soundwalk is simple. Prior to beginning your walk, you download the smartphone app, making sure the phone’s GPS is activated and your headphones are adequate. As you walk, your music experience changes depending on the route and locations one traverses. The work consists of musical “cells”, designed to harmonize with the natural environment, along with some music surprises tailored to specific features of the nature center. One’s choice of paths and pace determines what one hears, giving each visit a unique listening experience.
“SOUNDWALK is an intimate project,” says Reid. “It’s about introspection and taking time alone with your thoughts while connecting with nature. This special installation for Big Ears features one of my favorite ensembles, the Kronos Quartet — I’ve been inspired by them since I was a teenager, so this is truly a homecoming on many levels, and a celebration of the natural beauty of East Tennessee that was the backdrop of my childhood.”
Reid was born in Oak Ridge, living there through her high school years. She later earned an undergraduate degree in musicology at Columbia University and a master’s at the California Institute of the Arts. Reid was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music for p r i s m, an opera. Her music has been performed previously at Big Ears and her work, Knoxville: Summer of 2015, was performed by the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra.
Soundwalk will launch at Ijams on Wednesday, September 8, in conjunction with the lineup announcement for Big Ears 2022, which is scheduled—knock on wood—for March 24-27, 2022. The work will be active at Ijams for one year.
Information on downloading and using the app.
