Botanical Birdsong

A one-off musical performance inspired by the vocalisations of birds singing at dawn at the Botanic Garden in Leicester on Saturday 19 August 2023.

Audiences were met with the sounds of the robin, blue tit, great tit, blackcap, wood pigeon, blackbird and more in a soundtrack created by Leicester-based artist Lucy Stevens. Lucy collaborated with musicians Rishii Chowdury and Akash Parekar to inspire a new composition of Indian classical music, that demonstrates a wide repertoire of melodic phrases that mimic and complement the sounds of birds. Commissioned by Attenborough Arts Centre.

Audience members were given a limited-edition print (right) based on an analogue and digital collage, a visual interpretation of sound recordings gathered in the gardens, notably the robin.

Read more about the collaboration here in an interview with Attenborough Arts Centre. This was a newly commissioned performance funded by Attenborough Arts Centre.