FOCUS
Ever wonder what Union professors are up to when they aren’t teaching? Just about everything, as it turns out. Nothing is beyond their collective reach or curious minds. Here’s a glimpse of the diverse and intriguing work they do.
There’s always music in the air C H R I S T O P H E R C H A N D L E R , assistant professor of music
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he world is one long musical composition. We just have to be present and listen. Christopher Chandler, assistant professor of music, recalls learning this idea, promoted by Canadian musician and author R. Murray Schafer, who coined the term “soundscape.” “I remember thinking that this was a really profound way of engaging and listening to the world,” he said. Chandler has been paying attention to the sounds around him throughout his life. While having a conversation in his office, he is also attentive to the whir of the fan on his computer or the buzz of the overhead lights.
“A L L T H E S E T H I N G S A R E A LWAY S G O I N G O N , ” H E S A I D . “JUST AS IN MUSIC, THERE ARE FOREGROUND, MIDDLE GROUND AND BACKGROUND ELEMENTS. MOST OFTEN WE A R E AT T E N D I N G T O T H E F O R E G RO U N D E L E M E N T S T H AT A R E I M P O R TA N T T O U S . B U T T H E R E A R E O T H E R L AY E R S W E C A N PAY AT T E N T I O N T O . ”
The sounds of nature have inspired musical compositions throughout human history. Several of Chandler’s compositions connect to natural spaces and places both as a general source of inspiration and as direct sonic resource. In his “Audubon Sketches,” he pairs woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion with field recordings of various soundscapes. He also asks the musicians
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to perform on conventional auxiliary instruments (melodicas, woodblocks and shakers) as well as less conventional ones (stones, pine cones and branches). Chandler composed the work for the seven-member American Wild Ensemble, which recorded it live during the pandemic over the internet with musicians in different locations and time zones. It follows the sonic activity one might hear in a wilderness setting over the course of a day: katydids and crickets crossfade into buzzing cicadas over the course of the morning, bird calls drift along in the afternoon, and loon calls give way to an approaching rainstorm in the late evening. Chandler hopes one day to pair a performance of “Audubon Sketches” with a viewing of the College’s edition of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America.” To view a 2021 performance of “Audubon Sketches” go here: union.edu/ news/audubon-sketches In another of Chandler’s compositions, “The View from Here,” he draws from sounds he recorded in Shenandoah National Park: the drone of passing traffic on Skyline Drive, a ringing bell heard from afar, and the active sounds of wildlife just off a trailhead. The American Wild Ensemble recorded the piece, set to spectacular aerial video footage: union.edu/news/ view-from-here Chandler, who grew up along the Vernon River in Savannah, Ga., incorporates in his works sounds of his childhood, insects and water among them. He also has enjoyed exploring the Adirondacks, where he goes hiking and camping with his family. His wife, who hails from Maine, introduced him to the haunting cries of loons.
