Evaluation Report March 2016

Evaluation Report March 2016 1 The Bristol Ensemble Company limited by guarantee No. 3496857 Registered charity No. 1075201. Address: 10 Cossins Rd, Redland, Bristol, BS6 7LY Tel: 07766 105491 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bristolensemble.com Artistic Director - Roger Huckle 2 Project Plan TreeSong was a Bristol Green Capital project and part of the Nature strand of public events. It was based on an idea designed with three aims: Improving public knowledge and understanding of nature within the urban environment Connecting people to nature and encouraging their appreciation of the natural urban wealth through interaction Providing an artistic experience through the interpretation of a natural phenomenon Original proposal TreeSong is an arts installation commissioned by Bristol 2015 as part of the city’s year as European Green Capital. A specific beech tree was chosen (see map) we installed a low level structure beneath the canopy designed to make contact with the falling beechnuts and emit musical sound across an octave. All the sounds were recorded to capture the soundtrack of the tree and this data was used in a new classical composition premiered at St George’s Bristol in November. During hours of darkness, the installation and the tree was lit with red and green wash lighting. A solar-powered generator was positioned close to the site to provide environmentally-friendly electricity supply. Over the period of the installation, people were able to hear the sounds of the tree. An education project was planned to run alongside the installation to provide information about the tree and the role and importance of trees in the urban environment. Location Timetable: 28th – 30th September 2015: Installation fixing, testing and trouble-shooting 1st – 4th October 2015: Installation open to the public from 10 am – 10 pm daily; free of charge 29th November 2015: Premiere of the TreeSong music at St George’s Bristol 3 The installation We encountered several problems in the planning and implementation of the installation. We had had preliminary discussions with a group of artist technicians with the expertise to install a structure beneath the chosen beech tree. From confirmation of the Bristol 2015 funding in January through to June, the planning and negotiations proceeded up until a critical point in early July when it was clear we would not be able to proceed with these providers. We could not reach agreement on their terms so we took the decision to pursue other routes for delivery. This meant finding new artists with the experience, expertise, availability and affordability. We produced an invitation to tender and circulated it through our networks. This resulted in the appointment of Jony Easterby and Matthew Olden who proposed a new plan which worked within our budget. Jony and Matthew surveyed the tree in late July and at this point doubts were raised as to the expected fruitfall of beechnuts in the autumn. The tree had been selected based on the previous year’s mast which had produced a prolific crop of beechnuts. By early August it was almost certain that this year would be close to zero fruitfall. As the original design had been conceived to use the fruit falling to produce the sound, the design was then amended to make it adaptable so that any movement in, through and from the tree would be captured (wind, rain, wildlife, leaves and beechnuts). The only alternative would have been to find a new suitable tree in the right condition, location etc and this was rejected as unfeasible at this late stage. Installation set up began on 28th September. A wooden collar was fitted around the trunk of the tree to act as a pick up to translate vibrations through 32 piezos and over 200 strings radiating from the trunk to the circumference of the canopy at ground level. This equipment served to amplify the sounds coming from the tree. The strength and character of the wind and swaying of the tree altered the pitch, timbre and resonance of the strings giving a constantly shifting canvas of sound. Forty redundant violin, cello and viola bows were hung from the tree and set in motion by the movement of the branches, bowing, knocking and exciting the strings. The audio and data from these were amplified through speakers positioned in the canopy Sixteen small bird boxes with speakers and recordings of British birds local to the Downs were also triggered by this. A small wooden shed was built to act as a control studio where the sound artists created a live mix of the sound which evolved and shifted over the four days of the installation. The live sound was also used to control the shifting and fading lights mounted on each bow. The second problem arose when it became clear that the solar-powered generator we had hired was not robust enough for the job. In spite of glorious autumn sunshine for the duration, the supply was being used faster than the charging speed. This problem was identified during the installation build period so we had to source alternative provision that was capable of lasting throughout the entire period. A 2-ton truck was procured with solar panels on its roof and this was parked close to the site to solve the problem. A site risk assessment was carried out on completion of the installation to ensure the safety of visitors. Overnight security protected the equipment and installation throughout the entire period of the installation. The site was never left unattended at any time. The installation itself worked really well. It looked and sounded beautiful, in daylight and after nightfall, and from the moment the installation started being installed, it attracted a lot of interest from passers-by, the media and social media. 4 Visitors The installation opened to the public at 10am on 1st October and remained open till 10 pm each day up to and including Sunday 4th October. Volunteer stewards, wearing Bristol 2015 tabards were present at all times, talking to visitors and distributing flyers about the project. The volunteers also maintained the headcount and gathered monitoring information. Staff and volunteers stewards greeted everyone at the site and engaged most people in discussion about the work. From the outset it was clear that the installation made a profound impression on visitors. The vast majority of comments were positive. Some people just didn’t ‘get it’ and there were a few grumbles questioning the use of public money for ‘something like this when there are cuts to public services that actually help people’. The stewards gathered information to monitor visitor numbers, age range, gender, race/ethnicity and postcode. 3,650 people visited the tree. 440 people attended the concert 8 weeks later – a total of 4,090 people. Some of concert goers had also visited the tree but it would not have been possible, or appropriate to canvas a concert audience and obtain an accurate number of unique people accessing the project. Feedback A comments book was opened on the second day (2nd October) and we invited visitors to give their feedback in writing especially encouraging those with strong views either way. 75 people wrote in the book – the majority of which were very positive comments, and many were considered comments. This very much reflected how the project was received in general. A selection of comments are included below: THIS IS EXACTLY HOW PUBLIC MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT! European Green Capital 2015 has and continues to be brilliant. Whatever money controversy there may be, I think this is worth every penny. An extraordinary 'tuning in' to wind, air, falling leaves and the branches of a beautiful tree. And much cheaper than the Royal Opera House funding! Lovely that Will G will write music from this. Well done. (C Shewell) Amazing concept, truly wonderful. Thank you. (Liz H) So creative, linking nature and technology but then, nature has its own technology too. Congratulations on a good idea that gives us music, sound and a prompt to think and meditate… and forget the superficial press and media, they are too often pathetic parasites. (Mark) Oh Bristol, this is why I love you! So imaginative and creative! Awesome project to get people thinking and engaging with Nature. (Vicki) The complete list of comments is attached as Appendix 1. 5 We processed the most frequently used words from the comments book into a Wordall: Funding The total budget including the concert was £66,550. Bristol Green Capital awarded funding of £37,500 towards the installation budget of £57,500 (excluding the concert costs). We hoped to raise an additional £20,000 from Charitable Trusts or companies however despite our best efforts, we were only able to raise an additional £4,850 towards the concert costs and the final budget (installation and concert) was set at £46,500. See financial summary for budget detail. (Appendix 2) Education The drop in the budget for the installation required us to cut the education programme and we were unable to offer any formal planned programmes. We did however produce A5 flyers with technical information explaining the installation, the artists involved and promoting the forthcoming concert. 6 Publicity We printed 5,000 A5 colour flyers featuring an illustration of what the installation would look like. These were distributed door to door to the three closest BS postcodes and also distributed to arts and entertainment venues around the city. We placed an advertisement in the Bristol magazine September edition. Press There was extensive coverage in the local and national press. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/01/nut-free-treesong-beech-tree-bristol http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/8203-Bristol-musical-tree-project-hampered-lack/story-27903737-detail/story.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34410100 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/nutty-project-make-music-trees-6555390 http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Making-music-falling-nuts-tree-Durdham-Bristol/story-27903409- detail/story.html Website and social media We set up a dedicated website for the project: www.treesong.org.uk There was continuous activity on social media leading up to, and during the Downs installation.

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