Forest Aeternam logo

“Au Yong, more sensitive to natural sounds and the spiritual resonances of a place than perhaps any other local composer.”

—Seattle Weekly

Listen with trees and sing for the future to transform climate despair into collective adaptation. [photo by David Ryder]

Listen with trees and sing for the future to transform climate despair into collective adaptation. [photo by David Ryder]

Expand the musical requiem with outdoor research for a collection of performance practices. [photo by David Ryder]

Expand the musical requiem with outdoor research for a collection of performance practices. [photo by David Ryder]

In grade school, I learned that fields become forests and nurse logs nurture seedlings. [photo by David Ryder]

In grade school, I learned that fields become forests and nurse logs nurture seedlings. [photo by David Ryder]

The wonder nature provides, I return, so that nature and I may be one, to where nature knows we care, as the earth has cared for us. [photo by David Ryder]

The wonder nature provides, I return, so that nature and I may be one, to where nature knows we care, as the earth has cared for us. [photo by David Ryder]

Recognize emotions you experienced recently. Contemplate who you are related to the trees. [photo by David Ryder]

Recognize emotions you experienced recently. Contemplate who you are related to the trees. [photo by David Ryder]

Consider how you are aware of nature right now. [photo by David Ryder]

Consider how you are aware of nature right now. [photo by David Ryder]

Reflect on when you cared for the environment today. [photo courtesy of UCSC]

Reflect on when you cared for the environment today. [photo courtesy of UCSC]

Pan-religious musicial research draws on integral ecology, Chinese mourning rituals, the Catholic mass, and Jesuit discernment principles. [photo by Sophia Hampton]

Pan-religious musicial research draws on integral ecology, Chinese mourning rituals, the Catholic mass, and Jesuit discernment principles. [photo by Sophia Hampton]

Imagine how you can be more connected tomorrow. [photo by David Kwon]

Imagine how you can be more connected tomorrow. [photo by David Kwon]

Listen with trees.
Sing for the future.

Forest Aeternam
(forest eternal)

is a global participatory musical requiem and climate solutions initiative designed for civic engagement.

Grounded in a relational model of performance, the project shifts the focus from traditional hierarchy to a co-creative partnership between site, performers, and community.

Through the integration of acoustic ecology, somatic movement, and upcycled personal artifacts, the project provides a framework for mourning and environmental adaptation to transform climate despair into collective resilience.

In this 21st-century musical ceremony, audiences and performers listen with trees and engage in story-sharing circles while folding paper objects touched by loved ones. With participant consent, these narratives are transformed via technology into polyphonic voices a digital cinematic forest sings to conclude the requiem.

“As a composer and director, I consider musical performances as an active practice of courage and connection. Forest Aeternam expands the requiem mass to help communities worldwide imagine, adapt, and overcome the fear and sorrow caused by global warming. Join us to actualize ceremonial, environmental, sonic, and visual components of this work.”

—Byron Au Yong

Creative Team

Defining the project’s acoustic overstory, these guides provide the vocal and somatic framework for collective participation. They are supported by a creative team that translates the sensory experience of the forest into immersive digital and visual assets.

Creative Direction

Byron Au Yong (Composer and Lead Artist): As a Professor and Director of Arts Leadership at Seattle University, Au Yong researches the intersection of ceremony, ecology, and music to develop initiatives informed by acoustic ecology and the World Soundscape Project.

James Q. Chan (Filmmaker): An Emmy-nominated filmmaker with expertise in 360-degree cinematography from Circle Vision Canada and China, Chan integrates immersive technologies to bridge the gap between woodland ecosystems and digital assets.

Overstory Guides

Mirroring the forest’s structural canopy, these Overstory Guides provide the essential musical architecture and vocal leadership required for collective resilience.

Partners and Residencies

Forest Aeternam is currently in development with support from international thought partners and leading West Coast arts institutions.

Bloedel Reserve
Creative Residency and Site-Specific Development (Bainbridge Island, WA).

Green Music Center
Residency and production focus on climate-responsive musical performances (Sonoma, CA).

Field Arts & Events Hall
Residency and regional community engagement (Port Angeles, WA).

American Composers Forum McKnight Foundation Visiting Composer support.

Four Experiential Modes

scalable from intimate acoustic ecology and digital sessions to choral performances and immersive installations.

  1. Woodland Workshops for community cultivation and somatic listening.

  2. Live Concerts for socially engaged musical performances.

  3. Immersive Installations for interactive public spaces and urban sanctuaries.

  4. Digital Assets for global reach, accessibility and climate equity.

Experiential Modes

  • Byron Au Yong leads a workshop in the forest at Bloedel Reserve

    1. Woodland Workshops

    Guided civic engagement through acoustic ecology and somatic movement. Participants learn acoustic ecology groundings and vocal exercises to transform climate despair into collective adaptation.

    Best for: botanical gardens, parks, community conservatories, and classrooms.

  • Audience choir and orchestra in the forest.

    2. Live Concerts

    A participatory musical requiem featuring the Overstory Guides, choir, and orchestra. This experience features a musical performance that integrates the audience into the resonant core of the work.

    Best for: performing arts centers, festivals, outdoor amphitheaters, and theaters.

  • children in a forest aeternam immersive

    3. Immersive Installation

    A multimedia sanctuary bridging the gap between woodland ecosystems and indoor spaces. With 360-degree cinematography and spatial audio, this installation provides an accessible pathway for people to gather in communion with projected global forests.

    Best for: museums, galleries, and urban spaces.

  • musical score and folding on mobile device and tablet

    4. Digital Assets

    A virtual toolkit designed for accessibility and climate equity. High-quality video tutorials, graphic scores, and online instructions allow people around the world to experience Forest Aeternam regardless of physical proximity to a woodland area.

    Best for: educational institutions, virtual festivals, and accessibility-focused programming.

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“Forest Aeternam offers pathways from lonely climate despair to collective adaptation through song.”

Similar projects by Byron Au Yong

Music for people to listen, learn, and sing with trees in woodland areas, immersive installations, performing arts venues, and on digital devices.

  • site-responsive performance

    Turbine

    site-responsive performance for more than 88 moving singers for the Fairmount Waterworks 200th Anniversary

  • media Installation

    Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas

    installation created in collaboration with Randy Moss after performing with hiking musicians in 64 waterways

  • audience contributions transformed

    Oasis

    audience sharing transformed with spatial audio technology in this immersive Living Futures performance

  • graphic notation

    Mo Sheng 墨声 Ink Sound

    graphic notation for an installation string quartet commissioned by the Frye Art Museum in Seattle

  • community performers

    The Ones

    community participants inform and perform in a choral work about coming of age in an age of guns

  • singing workshop

    Activist Songbook

    singing and teaching workshops for a song collection to counteract hate and energize movements

  • story sharing

    Stuck Elevator

    story sharing as part of a musical theater opera hybrid that has had over 50 performances around the U.S.

  • graphic notation

    Occupy Orchestra 無量園 Infinity Garden

    graphic notation for a site-responsive performance performed at the Garfield Park Botanical Conservatory

  • 11 pianists

    Piano Concerto—Houston

    performers in an installation by, for, and about 11 local pianists for the inaugural CounterCurrent Festival

  • audience participation

    Port City

    research with Christopher Chen, Dohee Lee, and audience participants about our future informed by AI

  • graphic notation

    Water Partitas

    graphic notation for a singing violinist and projections performed in the United States and Zimbabwe

Video Sketches

With these sketches, composer Byron Au Yong shares ideas developed during creative residencies as well as footage from woodland areas. These videos offer ways to experience the sensory possibilities of music created in communion with trees.

One-minute video includes:

1. Graphic notation sketches.
2. Folded paper scores.
3. Being in the forest.

10-minute video includes:

1. Listening and singing in forests.
2. Lyric fragmentation examples.
3. Listening through feet.

 

re-qui-em
[rɛ·kwi·ɛm]
rest

ae-ter-nam
[ɛ·ter·nam]
eternal

hymn-us
[imn·us]
hymn

lux
[luks]
light

per-pe-tu-a 
[pɛr·pɛ·tu·a]
perpetual

lu-ce-at
[lu·ʧɛ·at]
shine

ex-au-di
[eks·au·di]
hear

o-ra-ti-o-nem
[ɔ·ra·tsi·ɔ·nɛm]
prayer

me-am
[mɛ·am]
my

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Forest Aeternam logo

The Vision
“Discover how memories transform into musical ideas, while folded paper objects touched by loved ones prompt story sharing circles. With participant consent, these shared narratives are transformed via technology into a polyphonic collective the digital forest sings to conclude the requiem. This musical adaptation of how roots connect and nourish is a metaphor for how we can adapt with our changing environment.”

—Byron Au Yong, Composer and Director of Arts Leadership

Production and Personnel

Status and Commissions
Forest Aeternam is currently in development. Contact Byron Au Yong to discuss commissioning partnerships for site-responsive presentation opportunities for 2026-2028.

Creative Team

Overstory Vocalists
As the forest overstory creates the environment for the layers below, these guides (soloists in a traditional musical requiem) establish the structural architecture for community engagement.

Research Musicians
Byron Au Yong, BC Campbell, Delgani String Quartet, Maria Drury, John Kenning, Tonya Lockyer, Meena Malik, Lucia Neare, Eun Ju Vivianna Oh, Bonnie Whiting, and Ivy Zhou

Volunteers
Nicoli Au Yong, Kenneth Huang, Michelle Kumata, and Martha Rogers

Details

  • Duration: Variable (circa one hour)

  • Instrumentation: Soloists, choirs, orchestra, and audience

News

Timeline and Support

Upcoming Events and Residencies

  • TBD 2026: Green Music Center Residency, Sonoma, CA

  • Nov 2026: Field Arts & Events Hall Residency, Port Angeles, WA

  • Apr 22, 2026: Earth Talks at Seattle University, Seattle, WA

Research and Development

  • Workshops: UC Santa Cruz International Graduate Students (Nov 2025), Seattle University Space & Site in Contemporary Art (May 2024), Seattle University Grounding with Nature (Apr 2024), Seattle University Practices and Rituals that Build Connection and Belonging (Mar 2024), Bloedel Reserve Folding and Singing with the Trees (Jul 2022).

  • Residencies: storIAccelerator Round 02 (Dec 2025), Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency (Sep–Oct 2025), McKnight Visiting Composer (Jan–Feb 2024), Up Lift: Collaborations with Nature (Oct 2023), Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency (Jul–Aug 2022).

  • Panels: Apples and Oranges Arts presents Spark Tank (Dec 2025), St. Olaf College Environmental Studies (Nov 2025), Bloedel Reserve: 10 Years of Creative Residencies at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (Sep 2025), St. Olaf College Arts and the Environment (Nov 2024), St. Olaf College Arts Practitioner Panelist (Nov 2023).

  • Exhibitions: Bloedel Reserve: 10 Years of Creative Residencies at Bainbridge Island Museum of Arts (Jul 4 to Sep 28, 2025), All that you touch: art and ecology, Thacher Gallery, San Francisco CA (Sep 7 – Nov 7, 2021).

Thought Partners
BC Campbell, Erika Chong Shuch, Anne Focke, Christopher Hibma, Eric Hung, Tim Igel, Christian Lischka, S.J., Aaron Jafferis, Tonya Lockyer, Todd London, Peter Novak, Blake Park, Stephanie Tubiolo, Meiyin Wang, Bloedel Reserve (Etta Lilienthal, Amy Weber), Cal Shakes (Andrew Page, Eric Ting), Jesuit Foundation (Timothy Godfrey S.J., Linda Wong), Montalvo Arts Center (Yafonne Chen, Emma Moon, Theo Olson, Kelly Sicat), Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium (Robert Kyr), and Thacher Gallery (Glory Simmons, Nell Herbert, Victoria Farlow).

Funders and Support
Forest Aeternam is supported by the American Composers Forum, Bloedel Reserve, Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, Jesuit Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Music to Life, Seattle University College of Arts and Sciences, and SOZO Media.

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