Notating nature in her hour of distress. Enabling you to hear her song ...
We all know that nature helps us to feel more human.
Welcome, my name is Cheryl Beer. I'm an Environmental Sound Artist & Conduit Composer, which means that in addition to collecting the beautiful ambient sounds of nature, like birdsong & flowing rivers, I also collate and transpose the actual biorhythms from within the natural world, converting them into digital sound, which I then, in turn, notate into music, creating innovative, award winning work that pushes boundaries, whilst exploring the relationship between sonic place & the poetics of humanity. This hasn't always been how I lived my life. I was a musician for more than 30 years until I suddenly became hearing impaired 4 years ago. Actually, it was the loss of birdsong that first alerted me to my hearing loss, tinnitus & hyperacusis. I learnt first-hand how devastating it can be to disconnect with nature & also, how incredibly healing it is to be reconnected. My deepened understanding of how the natural world nurtures well being, inspired me to repurpose the technology fuelling my hearing aids, combining the arts with user interfaces & bio medical science, to sculpt virtual soundscapes that connect us viscerally towards a deeper awareness of place. |
Did you know that we have rainforests, right here, in Wales?
I couldn't believe it when I found out that we have rainforests, right here, in Wales, but once I knew, it was my calling, as an environmental sound artist, to find a way of reuniting them, and in so doing, raise awareness of their fragile exsistence. Our rainforests are carbon dated back 10,000 years & were once all joined together underground, intertwined from root to forest. By repurposing the technology that fuels my hearing aids, I have discovered a new way for you to listen to these majestic gems of our homeland. Would you like to hear beneath the bark of our rainforests? Cân y Coed, Song of the Trees, empowers nature a new voice for Wales. Pull on your virtual wellies & join me in the Rainforests, behind the scenes of this magnificanet adventure; hear beneath the bark of some of the oldest surviving jewels in the crown of Wales. For the next 12 months, I'll be collating inner biorhythms, the very heartbeats of trees, plants & moss, converting these into music. My Unlimited commission is an extraordinary, environmental sound sculpture, the likes of which has never been attempted before. I am a conduit for nature, enabling you to hear her song. |
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE TOP 100 PIONEERING WOMEN FOR HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARTS ( WWEN : 2020 )
CAN Y COED : Join Cheryl in the Rainforests of Wales
Read about Cheryl's past Sound Sculpture projects
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Listen to Cheryl's research notating marine biorhtythms
Visit Cheryl's Plant Pod to hear the transposed biorhythms of plants
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Healing Our CommunityAs the Founder & Director of Sound Memories Dementia Friendly Radio Station, I design & deliver projects t0 support older people in creating their own Memory Resources, through Life Story & Nature Narrative. This work has won a GOLD National Award from the Wales Care Forum, was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Drama from the University of South Wales & my Health Empowerment Model was published in a co-paper written with Nick Andrews for the International Journal of Storytelling in Health. Sound Memories Radio won an Excellence in Digital Media Award from the Celebration of Arts & Culture. It is wonderful for our work to be recognised in this way, but what really matters is how we transform people's lives, Throughout the pandemic, Sound Memories quickly became an inspirational online resource & is still working hard to bring the healing nature of the virtual outdoors, to the older community.
''Cheryl is a creative humanitarian. Her visionary projects enable sustainable social change
and continue to impact Arts & Health strategy at the very core of Welsh life. '' |