Hear the Spirit of the Bay at the Whale Festival

Music composer Dr Michael Whiticker and photographer Macdonald Hamilton will arrive in Hervey Bay this month to create the 30-minute composition, to be marketed as  “Spirit of the Bay”.

The recording and photographs will be part of a 180 metre “soundwalk” at Urangan Pier Park, available to the public during the Whale Festival on 30-31 July.

The duo are being hosted by Fraser Coast Regional Council and will spend a week in residence interviewing local people, taking recordings and photographing the environment along the Hervey Bay Esplanade.

The “Spirit of the Bay” soundtrack will run continuously throughout the Saturday and Sunday of the Whale Festival.

“The addition of this artistic endeavour to capture the sounds of life in Hervey Bay is another great way for the community to celebrate all things that make the region special, including the famous humpback whale migration season,” said FCTE Event Manager Chelsea Larner-Simpson.

“Being able to host Michael and Macdonald as part of the Whale Festival and allowing them to create a sound time capsule is very special and something that we will be able to enjoy for many years to come.”

Visitors will hear the soundtrack through seven sets of stereo speakers, placed each about 30m apart close to the historic Urangan Pier.

Locals and visitors will be able to enjoy the artistic visual display by wandering amongst the sounds of Hervey Bay, listening and viewing images of people, wildlife, boats and water.

Visitors can choose to hear the entire piece, or enter and exit at any point of the journey and Michael and Macdonald will be on site during the performance to talk to the public about the composition and images.

The pair  will be working on the creation right up to and throughout the two days of the Whale Festival. The final version, which will combine the photos and the soundscape, will be edited into a 30-minute video and published following the festival.

KEY DETAILS:

• Spirit of the Bay – A sound and photographic portrait of Hervey Bay 
• 30 July (8am – 2pm) and 31 July (10am – 4pm), Urangan Pier Park
• Created by Dr Michael Whiticker (composer) and Macdonald Hamilton (photographer).

This project is funded by the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and Fraser Coast Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.