My work These hills used to be forests for Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble was shortlisted for the Making Music Green Award 2025.
Making Music is the UK’s membership organisation for leisure-time music, with around 4,000 groups representing around 228,000 music makers across the UK. Making Music presents awards and prizes to individual musicians, groups and organisations in both the leisure-time and professional sector.
These hills used to be forests is inspired by and features soundscape recordings of the Glas-na-Bradan Wood in the Belfast Hills.
In the winter of 2021/22 tree planting began at the area with the hope for it to develop into a native forest over the coming decades. Since then I have been recording the biodiversity there, particularly the birdlife and I have been talking with various members of the public taking part in the tree planting sessions each winter. In May 2023 I produced a soundwalk on the site based on my experience and findings there at the time.
These hills used to be forests takes all these experiences and more and transmutes them into this work for the concert stage which cultivates active listening for both the performers and the audience. Through this listening we reflect on our relationship with place and the natural world, and how soundscapes and environments have changed and are changing due to human activity.