Manitoga's woodland forest comes alive with Pete M. Wyer's iFOREST - an immersive, multi-sensory sound installation.
$25 General Admission
$20 Manitoga Member
ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE ONLY
Audience is limited to 25 people.
Seating for the concert program is first come, first serve on rock ledges and benches with safe social distancing (no personal/outside seating such as travel chairs are permitted). Please note that the experience does include a moderate hike: wear sensible walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Bug spray and sun screen are also recommended. The concert will be held rain or shine.
Beverages served and main House on view.
Post-concert viewing of the main House and Studio.
PARK AT THE PUBLIC LOT: 584 Route 9D where you will be directed to the performance.
ESSENTIAL PROTOCOL
- Reservations by advance booking only.
- Face coverings are required for all visitors and staff when a distance of six feet cannot be maintained (parking lot, interiors, restrooms, and when interacting with staff).
- You will be checked in by a site monitor.
- Please be sure to follow direction from all Manitoga staff while on the property.
- Practice social distancing while onsite.
- Limited public restrooms.
- Children must be at least 5 years old to attend.
Tickets are valid for the reserved time and date only - non-refundable, non-transferable. Cancellations/refunds must be requested a minimum of 24 hours in advance of your reservation date and time. Any requests less than 24 hours in advance will not be honored.
Please visit our website's Health & Safety section for more information.
ABOUT THE CONCERT:
Near the House and Studio, Russel Wright designed the Winter Walk to lead east through a woodland bathed in morning light. An offshoot of the path brings us to Pete M. Wyers iForest within Wrights theatrical setting of towering boulders and framed views of the Hudson River Valley. Over twenty-four audio speakers will feature a 72-voice choir, The Crossing of Philadelphia, singing primarily in the indigenous Mohawk language a western response to the Mohawk Thanksgiving Ceremony. Originally created for a forest in the Adirondacks, Wyers composition I Walk Towards Myself tells a story though music, echoing voices from thousands of years past who thanked every part of Nature. Each person will experience the work differently depending on where they are walking, the weather, and the time of day.
"My hope in creating this piece is that people will have a deeper sense of connection to nature, to themselves, and to others because we are all part of nature. When we have that empathy, there is no longer us and them because they are us. This matters greatly because it affects the way we make decisions and how we view the world." Pete M. Wyer
Composer Notes and iForest Map
Originally commissioned by and for The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, New York
Mohawk translation by Amalli Nalli with special thanks to Kamala Cesar and Chief Elder Tom Porter
The Crossing conducted by Donald Nally
Engineering by Paul Vasquez in Philadelphia and Jim Unwin in London
The iForest (or Immersive Forest) is Pete M Wyers large scale immersive sound installation. It began in 2005 as part of a research project at Portsmouth University under the title The iPod Forest. Since then, Pete M Wyers research and development in immersive sound has led to the creation a raft of new works that include new ways of scoring, creating and experiencing music.
As well as conventional items such as pitch, rhythm, tone and dynamic, scores use spatiality as a component, mapping the trajectory of sounds that move through space. This makes for a unique way of writing and experiencing music.
Fundamental to each iForest is a response to environment. Every space has its own acoustic ecology as well as its ecosystems and countless hidden stories. Great emphasis is placed on creating compositions that participate with the environment. Many iForests feature the human voice because humans are a part of the natural world. iForests aim to create a deeper connection for visitors, a reminder that we are not simply external observers - we are part of an intricate and complex web of interaction.
About PETE M. WYER
Pete M. Wyer is a composer and musician from England with an interest in storytelling and innovation. He has created scores for the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard, the orchestra of Welsh National Opera, The Crossing, BBC Television and the Royal Opera House as well as creating seven operas and music theatre works. His immersive installation The iForest opened in a permanent home at The Wild Center in the Adirondacks in 2017. Other iForests have been created for the Winter Garden (2016) and Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan (2018) and Descano Gardens in Los Angeles (2020).
2020 MANITOGA ARTIST RESIDENCY HOST COMMITTEE
Lead Sponsors
David M. McAlpin & Nanci Heller McAlpin, Marilyn & Jim Simons
Sponsors
Tom Krizmanic, Gary & Laura Maurer
Supporters
Allison Cross & Henry Nye, David Diamond & Karen Zukowski, Lyn & John Fischbach, Melissa Meyers & Wilbur Foster, Fred & Anne Osborn, Frederic C. Rich, Bill Roos & Scott Olsen, Jonathan and Diana Rose
Artist Residency Program support also provided by the Manitoga Leadership Council and Design Circle, the Sarah Little Turnbull Foundation, Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, PCLB Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
