Listening to Herons: Soundscape Composition at the Microsound Level

What happens when we listen inside a familiar sound? In this guided listening workshop, sound artist Eric Leonardson will use field recordings from an urban rookery of Black-crowned Night Herons — a state-endangered species and the focus of outreach by the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project — to demonstrate granular synthesis, a process that breaks sound into tiny particles that can be reorganized, layered, and transformed.

Beginning with the recognizable sounds of the rookery, Leonardson will create a live soundscape composition that invites participants to hear the site with “new ears” — one way soundscape composition asks us to pay closer attention to environments we might otherwise overlook. Photographs and artwork from the project will be on view, with brief context woven into the conversation.

Participants are invited to listen, observe the transformation as it happens, and share their own responses and questions. No prior experience or equipment is needed. Leonardson will make his software available afterward for anyone interested in continuing the exploration at home.

Spots are limited, please RSVP here: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/mouse-arts-and-letters/herons

Presented in collaboration with the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology, together with the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project and Urban Sketchers Chicago.

Amy Lardner, founder of the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project, will be on hand to share context about the rookery.