I have spent the past four summers raising bombyx mori (domestic silk worm moths), and they have been and continue to be a profound source of inspiration!
My works with silk moths have been performed by oboist Nicholas Daniel and have been featured at IF Festival (Guelph, Canada), Sound Scotland (Aberdeen, Scotland), Windhoek Festival (Trossingen Musikhochschule, Germany), New Music Gathering (Portland, 2024) and will be included in the upcoming Sonorities Festival (Belfast, 2024).
Update: In December 2023, I was awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) grant to help me move this work forward. Thank you RACC!
In December 2022, I was awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) grant to purchase audio equipment to further develop my work with Bombyx Mori and the Scuffed Computer Improviser developed by Taylor Brook. Thank you RACC!
Catherine Lee (oboe, field recordings and images) + Juniana Lanning (sound manipulation)
From album Remote Together * NOMINEE CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SOLO ARTIST) | ALBUM CLASSIQUE DE L’ANNÉE (SOLO) 2022 JUNO AWARDS
https://redshiftrecords.org/releases/tk489/
https://redshiftmusicsociety.bandcamp.com/album/remote-together
http://www.catherinemlee.com/
Silkys (2020) for oboe and field recordings is a collaboration between Catherine Lee and Juniana Lanning. In Silkys, a blended sound world is created by exploring sounds and movements of the bombyx more (domestic silkworm moth) that highlights the beautiful, unexpected and ofter overlooked aspects of the organism through its developmental stages and eventual metamorphosis into an adult silkworm moth. Originally conceived as a live performance, Silkys evolved into a fixed media work from Lee and Lanning’s respective isolations during Covid -19. Just as the bombyx more cocoons and transforms, so too has our existence and work changed during this time of seclusion.
Score available. Please contact me for details.
Catherine Lee, oboe d’amore and electronics by the Scuffed Computer Improviser (SCI), programmed by Taylor Brook.
Juniana Lanning, video
Shedding Skin was recorded live on July 3rd, 2021. I recorded this piece using a single microphone placed directly in the box with the silkworms. This microphone captured both the constant drone-like sound of the silkworms voraciously eating mulberry leaves and my improvisation on oboe d’amore in response to them. These sounds were sent directly into the Scuffed Computer Improviser (SCI), programmed by Taylor Brook, which listens, learns, and improvises with the sounds that it has heard. I continued improvising with the sounds produced by the SCI and the silkworms in real-time. Throughout, I was guided by the experience of the silkworms growing and shedding their skins during their instar stages.
Catherine Lee, oboe and electronics by the Scuffed Computer Improviser (SCI), programmed by Taylor Brook.
I recommend listening with headphones for full effect!
Recorded Live 2022 (Portland, Oregon)
Photos and Video by Catherine Lee
I have spent the past four summers raising Bombyx mori (domestic silkworm moths), and they have been a profound source of inspiration. I recorded Flutterings using a single microphone placed directly in the box with the adult silkworm moths. This microphone captured both the buzzing of the male silk worm moth wings and my improvisation on oboe in response to them. These sounds were sent directly into the Scuffed Computer Improviser (SCI), programmed by Taylor Brook, which listens, learns, and improvises with the sounds that it has heard. I continued improvising with the sounds produced by the SCI and the silk moths in real-time. Throughout, I was guided by the experience of the male silk moths buzzing their wings. The photos in the video were taken through different types of microscopes, they show perspectives and aspects of the silkworm moth that are often overlooked.