From Root to Wing: The Music of Vermont\u27s Ecological Soundscapes

With a rapidly changing climate and mounting environmental crises, we are called to reevaluate and reimagine how we exist in relationship with the rest of the Earth. This thesis explores how we can deepen our relationships with the ecosystems we inhabit by tracing the threads that unite ecology, music, and sound. It is both a research thesis and a creative project that merges the fields of soundscape ecology, ecomusicology, and environmental philosophy with the practices of soundscape recording, soundscape design, and music-making. I spent the last two years studying and recording ecological soundscapes around Vermont. From Root to Wing is a self-produced collection of songs that weave together these soundscapes with original lyrics and instrumentals that celebrate the music of the land, water, and organisms with which we live. Recognizing that we are not the only music-makers of the Earth, this thesis asks: what can collaboration look like between humans, the land, and other species—in music and in life? My work is grounded in a deep love for all living beings and for music’s ability to alchemize sound into emotion, communication, and healing. It is both a personal promise and challenge to envision a better world in the face of climate anxiety