


Like David, the students instantly saw the problem as an opportunity. He was already working with a group of White Bear students who have created an ecotone ripe for changing established norms and exploring new solutions. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.Well, after speaking to the team, David saw an opportunity. Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Emily Woodbury, Kayla Drake, Danny Wicentowski and Alex Heuer. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Where: Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, 11715 Cragwold Road, Kirkwood, MO 63122 And they're going to maybe be able to listen to those in a different way than they would if they were inside a concert hall.” It's this first exposure to these live acoustic instruments - which is so magical. “And so maybe when those youngsters come out, it might be their first time seeing a flute or a clarinet or a bassoon. “I wanted to make a project that would be really fun and engaging and playful for all ages,” she said. The first is to encourage people to “open their senses” and “be aware in a way that they maybe don't usually take time for.” The second is a matter of grassroots audience development. “There's been great joy in designing this absolute linkage to the nature right there on site,” she added.įerber said she has two goals for the EcoTones concept. And so, Ferber said: “We're going to have a theme of water and water instruments. The park is just a few miles away in Kirkwood, but it backs up to the Meramec River. And if you miss this iteration, don’t despair: Ferber is already planning the second EcoTones iteration, set for Emmenegger Nature Park this September.Įmmenegger is the perfect place for Ferber to continue her vision of the musicians building on the sounds all around them. Those reservations are full, but Ferber notes that as people drop off, they’re pulling from a waiting list. There’s also a grand piano at the trailhead pavilion for anyone who might walk by, not just the people who’ve reserved a spot at the concerts. They’ll play in small combos on six stages set up throughout the trail, each with its own musical theme.
#The nature of an edge or ecotone full#
Can you hear me out?’ I think all of my phone calls started like that, and knowing full well that maybe this wouldn't be for everybody.”īut many of the area’s best musicians happily signed on, and Ferber was eventually able to enlist 15. “My initial phone calls to all of the musicians started with, ‘Hi, I have a really unusual request,’” Ferber recalled on Wednesday’s St. It’s an intensely collaborative process, one that required far more of its performers than simply reading the sheet music. Frogs croak, and the musicians find music in their chorus. Birds sing - and the musicians mimic their song. For two reservations-only performances each this Saturday and Sunday, they’ll share pieces informed by the wildlife that inhabits the 112-acre oak-hickory forest.įor Ferber, the joy in EcoTones lies in playing with the idea of what happens when humans intersect with nature.
#The nature of an edge or ecotone professional#
It features small groups of professional musicians playing in - and inspired by - the 1.5-mile Hickory Trail. This weekend, she’ll reveal the results of that spinning, as Kirkwood’s Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center will play host to her new concert series, EcoTones. “I thought, ‘Well, how can I spin that into something musical?’” The word was “ecotones,” and while it might sound musical, it’s actually an ecological reference: It describes the place where two biological communities intersect - “a forest edge and a meadow,” Ferber explained, “or a stream and a stream bank.”Įcotones’ diversity often leads to particularly rich habitats. A few years ago, musician Jody Redhage Ferber heard a word she couldn’t get out of her head.
