Sequoia Standing by Ecology Ensemble

This sound and video work is a tribute to a 100+ year old giant Sequoia tree in NE Portland, Oregon that stands over 100 feet tall with a 9' diameter. The city of Portland is mandating the removal of this healthy tree.

The Sequoia is shared by two neighbors, but the city served a tree code violation without ever speaking to one of the parties. These neighbors of the tree, Shayan Rohani and Claire Bollinger, have spent the last decade trying to find a way to protect the tree and attend to their neighbor's concerns.

If it is not cut down, it can prosper and remain part of the urban tree canopy for over a thousand years. In that time it will develop ecological relationships with countless other species, and share its welcoming energy with so many humans. And long after we are gone, it will return to the soil.

We visited the tree at sunrise on May 16, 2020 and recorded it's electrical energy with MIDI sensors and processed this musical code with synthesizers. We asked 12 musicians to individually respond to this translation of the tree's energy. The following musical work, in three movements, includes their collective response and the synthesized sound of Mother Sequoia.

To support the campaign to save this tree, visit:
http://www.sequoiastanding.org/

To support environmental justice work in Portland, visit:
http://www.opalpdx.org/

Tracklist

1.	Movement 1	4:19

2.	Movement 2	5:26

3.	Movement 3	6:37

4.	Movement 4	2:10

Credits

released June 13, 2020

Creative Direction: Lisa Schonberg, Mike Gamble, Anthony Brisson
Video editing & processing: Mike Gamble
Mixing: Anthony Brisson
Production: Asis Productions, Figure 8 Recording, Boxwood Labs LLC Recording

ECOLOGY ENSEMBLE

in order of appearance:

Mother Sequoia
Anthony Brisson, percussion / digital soundscape / field recording
Dana Reason, piano
Paris Myers, video
Allan Wilson, synthesizer
Zanny Geffel, percussion
Larissa Conforto, percussion / electronic beats
Mike Gamble, guitar
Lumanzin, voice
Jonathan Sielaff, clarinet
Lisa Schonberg, percussion / field recording
Susan Lucia, percussion
Shahzad Ismaily, guitar
Machado Mijiga, saxophone / synthesizer

Ecology Ensemble members each recorded their respective audio and video.

THANK YOU

to Vanessa Renwick for encouraging us to visit and record the sounds of the Sequoia; to Claire and Shayan for working to protect the Sequoia
to Plant Wave/ Midi Sprout for your brilliant technology that made this documentation possible and to the New Music Gathering for supporting this work.

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