Tree's lack of nuts forces rethink of musical project

The team behind a £37,500 project to make music from falling nuts have been forced to adapt plans after discovering that they had chosen a nutless tree. The Bristol Ensemble, the city's professional orchestra, dreamt up the TreeSong project last autumn and were granted thousands of pounds from the Bristol Green Capital project fund. For the past few days they have been wiring a 100-year-old beech tree on Durham Down with sensors and strings which would make a noise when they were hit by falling beech nuts. However, the team were devastated to learn they had singled out a beech which was not producing the all-important nuts.



Roger Huckle, artistic director of Bristol Ensemble, said: "We found out about six weeks ago, and, I must admit it was a little disappointing. We originally chose that tree because it produced so many nuts in the last few years, but we didn't realise that they occasionally have fallow years, and this year is one of those." Undeterred, the musical team decided to press on and adapt the project. "After finding out about the nuts we decided to evolve TreeSong and now notes are sounded when there is any type of movement in the tree,"





Mr Huckle said. "For instance when the wind causes movement, when leaves and dead bark drop down or animals brush past - lots of things. In the long term I think it has actually improved the project. If this hadn't happened we would have restricted ourselves to falling nuts, now we have a whole range and spectrum of sound." Despite the setback, Mr Huckle can see the comical side of the situation. Asked if it was a lot of money to spend on an art installation that 'doesn't work', he said: "I think it's not a question of it doesn't work. "It's just the original concept has been changed to create the noises.


YouTube link.

"I'm happy for people to question the use of public money, it is something I do myself, but I think you're given it [grants] and you either refuse it or run with the project that you put forward, and I suppose I think it's a very exciting project. It has got a lot of potential for selling on to other cities and around Europe as well." The sounds captured by the installation will play at around 7pm each evening accompanied by a light show. The notes will also be used to create a 15-minute orchestral work composed by Bristol-based composer, William Goodchild, which will premiere at St George's Bristol on Sunday, November 29. The TreeSong project, which runs between 10am and 10pm, opened on Thursday and will close on Sunday.