Raven Rock State Park

Raven Rock State Park in Lillington, North Carolina is known for the fantastic stone outcropping known as the Raven Rock. For many, the cavernous yet open space created by the outcropping is what draws them into the park but, for me, the sounds created there are all the more compelling. The sounds of water, birds, wind in the leaves, airplanes passing, and (most significantly) people visiting the park are all recreated and manipulated in this soundscape-like improvisation piece.

The instrumentalists are situated around the audience and front and center is a screen with symbols representing the sounds which are played by the performers. The video is itself a score, so performers and audience members alike are reacting to the images in front of them. The piece is divided into four movements titled, "Happenings", the first two of which are entirely acoustic, the third involving amplified sound from the performers and Max MSP, and the final being acoustic with recorded sounds mimicking water droplets in different spaces.

Raven Rock State Park was premiered at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in fulfillment of the requirements for the MA in Composition and Creative Music Practice.