John Luther Adams
John Luther Adams composes music which evokes the landscape and ecology of his Alaskan home, stemming from his conviction that “music can contribute to the awakening of our ecological understanding. By deepening our awareness of our connections to the earth, music can provide a sounding model for the renewal of human consciousness and culture.” His works are largely orchestral, but have also included electronic music and field recordings, such as Earth and the Great Weather (1993), which combines instruments with field recordings from Alaska and the voices of native Inupiat people naming the landscape in their own language. The Place Where You Go To Listen (2004-6), meanwhile, is a sound and light installation based upon the real-time sonification of geophysical and climatological data, allowing visitors to experience the fluctuating dynamics of the Alaskan ecosystem as a constantly unfolding piece of music. David Shimoni characterises Adams’ work as ‘ecocentric’, observing that “[i]nstead of making music from nature, in which nature is treated as a resource, [Adams] make[s] music with nature, in such a way that both humans (composer, performers, listeners) and the rest of the natural world retain…a sense of autonomy and creativity in the process.”