larm Will Sound presents an ambitious and offbeat home video installation of Ten Thousand Birds/ Ten Thousand Screens
Filmed in a single take, this immersive walkthrough experience of
John Luther Adams's Ten Thousand Birds (originally written for AWS)
was conceived by Alan Pierson and performed by members of Alarm Will Sound
on 27 different screens (many antique or obsolete) in Pierson's apartment From John Luther Adams: "This incarnation of Ten Thousand Birds touches me deeply. Not only because of the imaginative way my friends in Alarm Will Sound have re-created the music. But because of the intimate glimpse it gives us, in a time of crisis, into the streets of the city I love, and the irrepressible spirits of New Yorkers. It's more important than ever for us to remember our connections with the larger-than-human world, and to celebrate the never-ending music of this miraculous planet that is our one and only home."
Circumventing "the new normal" of Zoom meetings and video-streaming, Alarm Will Sound's Artistic Director Alan Pierson-an MIT grad and lifelong techie-staged the piece on myriad screens and devices that he dug up in his Brooklyn apartment. Each screen shows a member of AWS performing their part (each musician plays the song of a bird native to or migrating through New York City, as well as sounds of wind and frogs). Pierson designed a path through the installation, and filmed the synchrony in a single 5-minute take.
Notes by Alan Pierson
Apple iPod Touch: This was my mom's smartphone training device. She donated it to the Ten Thousand Screens project.
Google Nexus 4: This was my ex's smartphone. He donated it to the "museum of handheld devices" that I was gathering when we were together. Galaxy Nexus: This was the first Android device that was actually delightful to use, but it wasn't available on my carrier in the States, so I had to go through shenanigans to get one from Europe. And then, like a week after it showed up, I dropped it while hiking in Arizona and cracked the screen and was very very sad. Google Nexus 5: I thought this bright red phone was totally gorgeous when it first came out. I really wanted one but couldn't justify buying it when I had a perfectly good phone already. When I saw one cheap on eBay many years later, I jumped at it. HTC HD2 (2009): This was an iconic device in the Windows Mobile community: a valiant effort at making a Microsoft phone that could survive in an iPhone world. It made a huge splash when it first launched in 2009, and it retained a passionate user base for many years after that. I remember ogling it in stores. I really wanted one at the time, but never bought one. Then got one cheap on eBay many years later. Google Nexus One (2010): The first of Google's Nexus devices, and another icon. I first saw this phone in the hands of our trombone player, Mike Clayville, and eventually bought one for myself. Microsoft Surface Book: my laptop! Samsung Galaxy Tab S4: my tablet! Apple iPad 2: This old iPad was donated to the project by a dear friend of Alarm Will Sound's in St. Louis. Motorola Xoom (2011): This was the first tablet that Google put out into the world. It's a complete mess, but it's got an important place in history. Pixel 2 XL (2017): my phone! iPhone 8 (2017): This is Paul's old phone. It was already pretty well beat up before this project. And ... then I dropped it during a long rehearsal day. Now it's really beat up. He was planning to sell it. But I'm not sure how realistic that is anymore. HTC One X (2012): This is my dad's old phone. He donated it to the project. Dell Axim x51v (2005): This is my old Windows Mobile PDA, much loved. The first one of these I bought got stolen at LaGuardia Airport in 2007. I landed in Indianapolis and immediately found a new one on Craigslist. Microsoft Surface RT (2012): This is Microsoft's original tablet. My dad donated it to the project. Palm T|X (2005): This Palm was much loved by my ex. He felt strongly that my "museum of handheld devices" needed one, and donated it. Surface Book 2 (2017): This is the device I conduct off of. MacBook Pro: This is Paul's laptop. MacBook Pro: Paul's other laptop! iPad Pro: This is Paul's iPad. Dell Venue Pro: I got this for my museum. Felt like I needed to have a Windows Phone in there. HTC Dream (2008): the very very first Android device. Mine is a development model I bought on eBay. iPod Classic (2005): This is Paul's much, much loved iPod. It sadly died during the making of this video. Touch Pro 2 (2009): my Dad's old cellphone. Legendary for its awesome keyboard. HTC P6500 (2008): my very first smartphone. I heard it was coming out in a leak a year before the release, and eagerly anticipated it that whole year: I wanted a smartphone that could store my entire document and music library, and nothing else existed at the time with enough storage. When it finally came out, it was released only in Europe and cost $950 online, but ... I bought it anyway. It showed up the day of the 2008 Bang on a Can marathon. Palm T|X (2005): My ex loved Palms so much that he bought this second one when the first went wiggy. iPhone 3GS (2009): My mom's first iPhone, donated by her to this project.Videos