The Fragmented Orchestra

About The Project

The Fragmented Orchestra is a huge distributed musical structure modelled on the firing of the human brain's neurons. The Fragmented Orchestra will connect 24 public sites across the UK to form a tiny networked cortex, which will adapt, evolve and trigger site-specific sounds via the FACT Gallery in Liverpool, the current European Capital of Culture from December 11th 2008 - February 9th 2009.

Each of the sites will have a soundbox installed, which will stream human-made and elemental sound from the site via an artificial neuron to one of 24 speakers in the FACT Gallery. The sound will only be transmitted when the neuron fires. A firing event will cause fragments of sound to be relayed to the gallery and will also be communicated to the cortex as a whole. The combined sound of the 24 speakers at the gallery will be continuously transmitted back to the sites and to this website at which the sound from the individual speakers can also be listened to.

The sounds of The Fragmented Orchestra will vary according to location; wind through a forest, heavy traffic, the continual rotating of wind turbines and chatter of migrating birds arriving for the winter will be combined with incidental and performed sounds from members of the public. The public, invited to play the instrument at the 24 sites, will be able to hear the effect their playing has on the overall composition of the piece at each site, at FACT in Liverpool and on this website. As members of the public use the instrument they will become both player and audience of a vast and evolving musical composition extended across the UK.

We are looking for suggestions for sites over the next two months. If you would like to suggest a suitable site for us to install one of the 24 soundboxes in your local area we'd like to hear from you.

The Fragmented Orchestra is a collaboration between artist, Jane Grant, composer-musician-physicist, John Matthias and composer-sound-designer Nick Ryan and is the winner of the 2008 PRS Foundation New Music Award.

Web design and development: Daniel Jones

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