Here to Hear // Hear to Here

Here to Hear // Hear to Here is an interactive audio installation that invites you to put on headphones and sing specific pitches following helpful cues. The sound of your voice triggers music to play—never the same, and only if you sing on key.

This immersive work by musician and artist Brooks Frederickson (currently a composition doctoral student at Duke) is designed to give non-musicians the chance to actively participate in the creation of music. The in-headphone audio that plays in response to your singing includes music composed by Frederickson and sung by the Grammy-winning new music choir The Crossing, electronic percussion, and digitally altered versions of the recordings of The Crossing.

Counter to the current trend in art and art institutions to create experiences that are Instagram-ready, Here to Hear // Hear to Here is designed to be un-sharable. This headphone-based, ephemeral experience encourages you to focus on having an experience rather than sharing it on your social feeds.

A visit to Here to Hear // Hear to Here is unique and cannot be repeated. Each time you interact with the installation, the audio triggered by your voice is generated in a new ordering and organization. Here to Hear // Hear to Here consists of six independent headphone and microphone pairs that allow each participant to have a private experience. For anyone nearby the installation, the pitches sung by participants create another layer of spontaneous music.

Here to Hear // Hear to Here is presented by the Rubenstein Arts Center as part of its arts project program with additional support by the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts—Duke Arts.