Mahwah Symposium To Focus On Music Meeting Nature

An all-day interdisciplinary event titled “Music In Nature” will be held at Ramapo College of New Jersey on Thursday, Feb. 28, the college announced this week.

According to a release from Ramapo, it will begin with a symposium showcasing numerous speakers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Trustees Pavilion and will be followed by a music production workshop with internationally acclaimed electronic music producer and performer King Britt from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Sharp Theater. Afterwards, a sound walk with Michelle Nagai, a composer and member of the New York Society for Acoustic Ecology, will be featured from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Berrie Center. The event will conclude with performances from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Sharp Theater.

“Music in Nature” is the Independent Study project of Ramapo College student Adam Lazor, a guitarist who is majoring in Music Production and minoring in Environmental Studies and Anthropology. Lazor spent a month last summer studying ecology, specifically the sounds of insects and birds in Costa Rica, and wants to share his experiences and discoveries.

The production studies the intersection of music and the natural world through projects that sample and analyze natural sounds directly or that are emulated using advanced technologies. Insects and birds are of particular focus in many of the works.

Speakers will include Adam Lazor, Michelle Nagai, musician and New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor David Rothenberg and Edgardo Arevalo Hernandez, an ecologist and professor at The School for Field Studies in Costa Rica. King Britt will headline the evening event; otherperformers will include Adam Lazor, David Rothenberg, the Ramapo Digital Music Ensemble and Ramapo College Music Professors Seth Cluett and Travis Houldcroft.

This event is open to the public. Tickets are free for those with a valid 
college ID and $10 for all others.

The above was submitted by Ramapo College.