This post show Q&A was recorded on the 12th September 2015.
The signs are there: over the past few decades, humanity’s 5000-year collaboration with the honey bee has been building toward a grim conclusion.
If we fail to heed their warning, could we be casually swept into the fossil record alongside them?
Dance of the Bee is a remarkable interspecies musical collaboration: a work performed by three pianists, the vocalists of the Astra Choir and a live swarm of bees, housed inside a sculpted, transparent hive.
Woven through the mysterious song of the bees, the pieces range from soundscapes to intense virtuosic arrangements, punctuated by semi- improvised sonic excursions.
As the bees sing, live video allows us to observe the marvel of the hive at work – and to ponder on the fragile connection between our world and theirs.
Composed by Martin Friedel
Piano/Prepared Piano Michael Kieran Harvey, Peter Dumsday, Joy Lee
The Astra Improvising Choir Directed by Joan Pollock
The Astra Choir Directed by John McCaughey
Sound Michael Hewes
Video Mim Whiting
Sculptural Consultation Robert Bridgewater
Beekeeper Martin Friedel
