Wade [Music for River and people]

Aug. 2-Sept. 8, 2019
Downtown Footbridge
Meet the Artist Reception: Friday, Aug. 2, CA&C Depot, South Main Street (additional details forthcoming)

What Is It?

Wade [Music for River and people] is an interactive music installation composed in real time by the flowing river and the movement of people. It is an invitatio for people to step into and create a musical experience with our natural surroundings. Wade premiered in Nashville in April 2018 and received a “Best In Nashville” award from the Nashville Scene.

About Wade [Mount Vernon]

For the Mount Vernon, Ohio, installation, three rivers are used to create the music. The Kokosing River sings the soprano notes, the Walhonding River creates the mid line, and the Muskingum River provides the bass. Using these three rivers, the piece traces the flow of water for its start near Mount Vernon to its confluence with the mighty Ohio River near Marietta. Through the month of August, Wade [Music for River and People] will rise and fall along with the rivers that feed the Ohio Valley.

For an example of the music you may hear, visit Doenges’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aaronhokedoenges/.

Rivers + You = Music

Real Time data about the Kokosing, the Walhonding, and the Muskingum Rivers’ depth and flow is pulled from the United States Geological Survey website and is transformed into changing pitches and dynamics of the piece. As the rivers’ depths rise and fall, the notes also rise and fall. As the rivers flow faster or slower, the volume of the piece grows louder or softer.

At the same time, new musical elements are added and existing ones are modulated as people move over the bridge, throughout the installation space. Motion sensors pic up your movement and us it to change the notes of the piece. The more movement there is, the more dramatic the change. The audience is immersed in, and changes, the sonic flow of the rivers around them.

Who is the artist?

Aaron Hoke DoengesAaron Hoke Doenges is a sound artist and composer living in Nashville, Tenn. Originally from Mount Vernon, Doenges spent his childhood riding the Kokosing Gap Trail and catching crawfish in Delano Run. He graduated from Mount Vernon High School (1998) and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (2003) before moving to Nashville to study music composition at Belmont University (2009).

For more information, visit www.aaronhokedoenges.com or follow @aaronhokedoenges on Facebook or Instagram.