Ear to the Earth Presents INSECT MUSIC, 5/22

In the spring of 2013, the cicadas in the Northeastern U.S. will emerge from their seventeen-year cycle, the longest gestation period of any animal. On the occasion of the cicadas' arrival and the release of David Rothenberg's CD and book, Bug Music: How Insects Gave us Rhythm and Noise (St Martin Press, 2013), Ear to the Earth is pleased to present Insect Music - an evening of conversation, film and music on the sonic world of the cicadas. Insect Music will take place at Judson Church, located at 55 Washington Square South (NYC), on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:30 pm. Suggested donation: $15 at the door. For more information, visit eartotheearth.org or email eartotheearth@emf.org

The evening will kick off with a presentation by Dan Mozgai, one of the foremost experts on cicada sounds and behavior. It will be followed by the world premiere of Richard Robinson's Song of the Cicada, a 30-minute experimental documentary inspired by Rothenberg's Bug Music and drawing parallels between the cicada's life underground and the ordeal of former political prisoner Tim Blunk. Robert Krulwich, the founder of RadioLab, will then lead a panel discussion featuring Richard Robinson, Tim Blunk, David Rothenberg, and Umru Rothenberg to discuss the movie and ask questions such as: Is the cicada cacophony be understood from the perspective of John Cage or it is just noise? What can the cicadas teach us about our relationships with the environment? The evening will culminate with a music performance, Bug Music, featuring Pauline Oliveros (accordion), David Rothenberg (clarinets and laptop) Timothy Hill (overtone singing) and Garth Stevenson (double bass), playing off the sounds of cicadas and other insects.

Completing the trilogy which musician and naturalist David Rothenberg began with Why Birds Sing and Thousand Mile Song, the book and CD Bug Music explores a unique part of our relationship with nature and sound - the music of insects, and its influences in classical and modern music. It considers the radical notion that we humans got our idea of rhythm and synchronization from insects that have been thrumming, scraping and drumming complex beats long before we opened our mouth to sing. Together with Oliveros, Hill and Stevenson, Rothenberg will explore the resounding beats of cicadas, crickets, katydids, leafhoppers and water bugs, creating music made out of the swirling musicality of the insect world.