The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) has been awarded a $40,000 grant to support an interpretive music project that celebrates regional biodiversity and human diversity while engaging American and Canadian audiences in a shared artistic experience of the Champlain Basin.
The “Watershed Voices” project — a collaboration of regional partners including ANCA’s Adirondack Diversity Initiative and McClure Productions Inc. — was awarded the grant through the Lake Champlain Basin Artist-in-Residence Program and NEIWPCC, a regional commission that helps the states of the Northeast preserve and advance water quality.
Paul Smith’s College professor, eco-musician and composer Glenn McClure will serve as the lead composer for the Watershed Voices project. The core musical content, made up of melodies and chord progressions, will be driven by lake core data collected and curated by Dr. Curt Stager of Paul Smith’s College. These lake core samples represent thousands of years of climate history and human intervention in the Champlain Basin.
McClure will mentor three other composers in using scientific data from the watershed to create five choral and instrumental works. The Northern Lights Choir, The Choeur Classique de l’Outaouais, and The Orchestra of Northern New York will perform the project’s final pieces at live public concerts.
A website dedicated to the project will host blogs from participating musicians and scientists, an online concert hall, links to partner organizations, a user-generated content platform, and recognition of LCBP and other supporters. All content will be available in English and French. The new website is expected to launch in Summer 2023.
For more information, click here.
Photo of Paul Smith’s College professor Dr. Curt Stager collects a core sample from Lake Champlain provided.
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