The Beaver Lake Project
- Joda Clément
Western Front is pleased to present The Beaver Lake Project, a commissioned sound composition by Joda Clément, developed through our artist in residence program. The work asks a simple question: Under what conditions do observed phenomena become legible as compositional material?
In development since 2021, The Beaver Lake Project derives its musical structure from motion observed in relation to a fixed point of listening. Drawing on recordings made at Beaver Lake in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, the work translates relationships among pitch, amplitude, timbre, and duration into a performance framework for an ensemble. Rather than using field recording to reproduce or preserve a sonic environment, Clément considers how sound behaves in relation to space, site, and listening. Through sustained attention, temporal relationships embedded in the recordings are measured, interpreted, and translated into music.
The performance brings together twelve local musicians selected through an open call to realize a durational score of sustained tones, gradual pitch movement, and extended listening. Arranged for three quartets, the performance unfolds over 100 minutes, with each quartet temporally staggered so that both silence and simultaneity is compositional.
The musicians are Khalil Alomar (synth), Julie Andreyev (theremin), Héloïse Auvray (electric bass with ebow), Adrian Avendaño (percussion), Jaiden Christie (violin), Anat Elkayam (electronics), Elisa Ferrari (prepared zither with ebow), JT Gladysz (synth), Sam Meadahl (lap steel), Alvaro Rojas (guitar), Nikko Whitworth (double bass), and Rafael Zen (electronics).
About the Artist
Joda Clément is a sound artist and composer based in Vancouver, Canada. His work explores the phenomenology of sound in space as musical material, utilizing analogue 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. Collaborators 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.
Accessibility
The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of twenty-six stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream (see link above). Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.
Acknowledgements
Presented with support from 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.