The Beaver Lake Project
- Joda Clément
Western Front is seeking twelve musicians to participate in The Beaver Lake Project, a new work by Vancouver-based sound artist and composer Joda Clément.
The Beaver Lake Project investigates a simple question: under what conditions does observed phenomenon become legible as compositional material?
In development since 2021, the work derives its musical structure from observed motion relative to a fixed point of listening. Using recordings made at Beaver Lake in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, the project translates relationships of pitch, amplitude, timbre, and duration into a performance framework for an ensemble. The work inverts the representational aim of the field recording: rather than reproducing or preserving sound, it reads sound for the conditions through which it becomes legible. Framing observation through recording and sustained attention, temporal relationships embedded within sound are measured and translated into music.
Arranged as three quartets, performers will use a score to realize a system of sustained tones, gradual pitch movement, and long-duration listening. The performance will be 100 minutes in duration.
Participants will be offered an honorarium of $650.
Who Should Apply
Participants must be able to produce a continuous, unbroken tone for one minute or longer, and move between pitches without interrupting the sound. Any sound producing means is welcome: acoustic, electronic, or extended technique.
Suitable instruments include but are not limited to: cello, violin, viola, double bass, accordion, theremin, bag pipes, pedal steel, lap steel, harmonium, organ, synthesizer, bowed percussion, and guitar with slide or e-bow. Wind players are welcome and would need to be comfortable with circular breathing or a comparable extended technique.
Schedule
The rehearsals and performance will take place at Western Front. Participants are required to attend at least one of the three rehearsals in August and September, and must attend both mandatory dates in October. Attendance at the August 8 online introduction is strongly encouraged—it will be recorded for those unable to attend. When applying, please indicate your availability across all rehearsal dates—this information will be used to organize participants into quartets.
Aug 8, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m, online introduction
Aug 22, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m, rehearsal - quartet 1
Sep 5, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m, rehearsal - quartet 2
Sep 19, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m, rehearsal - quartet 3
Oct 3, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., rehearsal - all quartets (mandatory)
Oct 17, 7:30 p.m., performance (mandatory)
How to Apply
To apply, please send the following to info@westernfront.ca with the subject line “The Beaver Lake Project” by July 17, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
- A bio (up to 200 words)
- A short recording of you playing your chosen instrument/sound (up to two minutes)
- Your availability across the August 22, September 5, and September 19 rehearsal dates, and confirmation that you can attend the mandatory October 3 and 17 rehearsal and performance dates.
Successful applicants will be notified by July 31, 2026.
About the Artist
Based in Vancouver, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Joda Clément has showcased his unique approach to sound art and composition, establishing himself as a prominent figure in both local and international communities for over twenty-five years. Clément’s work explores the phenomenology of sound in space as musical material, utilizing analog and acoustic instruments, field recordings, and feedback to carefully construct transportive listening conditions. His work often transcends distinctions between sound, site, and source, inviting listeners to reconnect with the world in a meaningful and deliberate way.
Clément has notably performed or exhibited at The Music Gallery, The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Issue Project Room (NY), Suoni Per Il Popolo, Extermination Music Night, Life Changing Ministry, Electric Eclectics Festival, Kleylehof / Reheat (Austria), VIVO Media Arts Centre, Surrey Art Gallery, MUTEK, Oboro New Media lab, and the West Hollywood Library. His music has been released internationally on labels such as Alluvial Recordings (US), Glistening Examples (US), Mystery Sea (BE), Unfathomless (BE), caduc (CA), Notice Recordings (US), Marginal Frequency (US), and Audio 845 (CA). Collaborators past and present include Magali Babin, Michael Northam, Hitoshi Kojo, Bhob Rainey, Bonnie Jones, Kai Fagaschinski, Freida Abtan, Chris Cogburn, Olivia Block, Tomasz Krakowiak, Tim Olive, Alexandra Spence, Judith Hamann, Mathieu Ruhlmann, and Lance Austin Olsen.
To learn more about Clément’s work, visit his website or Bandcamp.
Accessibility
The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of twenty-six stairs. If you have specific questions relating to accessibility, please email: info@westernfront.ca or refer to further details about accessibility at Western Front here.
Acknowledgements
Presented with the support of SOCAN Foundation.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.