Musicians in Residence

Friends of SPRI/HMS PROTECTOR Musicians in Residence Programme

The Friends of SPRI Musician in Residence travels south with the Royal Navy on board HMS Protector for a 4-week placement during the Antarctic summer season.

We are most grateful to the Royal Navy, and the officers and crew of HMS Protector, for their support of the programme.

We are pleased to annouce that our first Musician in Residence will be Michael Begg, who introduces himself below.

Michael Begg

"...I am thrilled to have been selected as the first Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute musician in residence, and I look forward with great excitement to joining the crew of HMS Protector this coming season.

In my work I work not only with traditional score notation, but I also employ a lot of computer programming, instrument making, field recording, data sonification and studio manipulation. For the past two years I have been working closely with polar researchers throughout the UK, Europe and beyond on developing a series of compositions that seek to transform their data into music. My music has enabled increased public engagement with otherwise quite obscure data relating to, for instance, dramatic air pressure inversions caused by the drop in Arctic sea ice levels, and the changing vertical migration patterns of plankton caused by global warming. Most recently, in a residency with the European Marine Board I developed new music around several research projects based on and around Pine Island glacier and the Ronne Ice shelf in Western Antarctica.

Working only with data and the invaluable discussions with the scientists I have managed to develop an enormous affection and attachment to this most remote and beguiling territory. This fantastic opportunity now allows me to actually experience these land and seascapes in the flesh. I will travel with a range of microphones and other equipment to capture the sounds of the ice, the sea, the wildlife, the weather, and even the workings of the ship itself to assist me in creating as authentic and exciting a sonic portrait of Antarctica as I can. I look forward very much to sharing this work with you upon my return. Who knows, maybe we will even meet on a future expedition cruise where I can help you make your own recordings! For more information visit about me and my work visit - www.michaelbegg.studio ..."