Ten Thousand Birds

“The birds were my teachers,” says composer John Luther Adams, whose music is a natural extension of his long-time environmental activism. Birds have inspired composers from Mozart to Messiaen; in Adams’ case, it was hearing the song of a wood thrush for the first time that set him on his path as a composer inspired by the beauty and majesty of the natural world.

In Adams’ words, Ten Thousand Birds is not a fixed composition, but "an atlas of musical possibilities for performers to use in creating their own unique realisations of the music." This ambitious, rarely-performed work—a true musical event—will be led by Tim Munro, ANAM Alumnus and former flautist in contemporary musical supergroup Eighth Blackbird.