Trees.Listen

This project has evolved into a live multimedia concert, an album recording, and an outdoor sound installation that can be experienced with open-air speakers or through smartphones. This nine-piece tree-based suite for lever harp and fixed electronics was inspired by the enlightening book To Speak for the Trees by acclaimed medical biochemist and botanist, Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger. Orphaned in Ireland during her youth, she was educated by elders who instructed her in the Brehon knowledge of plants and nature.
 Diana possesses a unique combination of Western scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom from the ancient world.

The music that Sharlene Wallace and Frank Horvat co-composed is based on different letters from the ancient Ogham script, a medieval alphabet that named each letter after a type of tree, emphasizing the significance of trees to the ancient Celts. Each piece is named after a tree and the predominant musical note heard in each piece corresponds to the note named after that particular tree. For example, you will hear a lot of Bs in Birch because the Celtic word for birch is beith, which is the name for the letter B in their alphabet. This approach creates an additional spiritual connection between each piece, the tree, and its designated letter. The overall tone of each piece is also inspired by the information and stories shared by Diana about each tree, each having its own unique musical character, just as each tree does.



Horvat and Wallace perform their storytelling tree music with spontaneity and virtuosity.

– Tiina Kiik, WholeNote Magazine

Nine compositions. Nine trees and companion plants to trees. 
There are two compositions dedicated to the mighty Oak.

The Making of Trees.Listen

Phase 1: Samples/loops were recorded of Sharlene playing her harp with their collaborator/engineer, Jean Martin. This began during the Fall 2022 for BIRCH and HAZEL. In April 2023, the loops for OAK and PINE were recorded, this time with Sharlene’s beautiful new custom-made Mark Norris lever harp from Scotland. In the Fall 2023, recording of the loops (samples) was completed for the remaining 5 trees.
Phase 2: Frank used these samples as the foundation for composing electronic bed-tracks.
Phase 3: Sharlene composed a live harp part on top of those bed-tracks.
Phase 4: Sharlene and Frank convened to fine-tune the compositions and record a demo recording.
Phase 5: Sharlene recorded her live harp parts at Union Sound Company.
Phase 6: Editing, mixing and mastering of the album.

Premiere Concert and Installation

Trees.Listen was unveiled at The Arboretum in Guelph with a world premiere performance of the entire suite. The event also included immersive sound installations scattered throughout the pristine grounds, with speakers nestled among the trees, creating an enchanting atmosphere. A smartphone-led installation continued at the Arboretum for the whole Fall.

Sharlene and Frank hope that Trees.Listen supports Diana’s vision: that trees are a fundamental part of our existence and survival on this planet, and they deserve to be worshipped and protected. Diana is a passionate individual who envisions a better world with more trees. Trees.Listen supports Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s vision that trees are a fundamental part of our existence and survival on this planet and that they are something to be worshipped and protected. Diana’s Bioplan is an ambitious plan encouraging people to develop a new relationship with nature and join together to replant the global forest. Everyone needs to plant one native tree per year for the next six years. If we can globally plant 48 Billion Trees over the next 6 years we can reverse the effects of climate change.

Canadian composers Frank Horvat and Sharlene Wallace listened with their hearts and turned my words into the music of the harp. This is a universal language that sees no barriers of comprehension. It is understood immediately by everyone. This music gathers our consciousness to heal all that has passed. It reveals a healthy future for our planet, our only home. 
– Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author

, climate change visionary

Trees offer us the solution to nearly every problem facing humanity today, from defending against drug resistance to halting global temperature rise…They do so even when we can’t or won’t hear them. We once knew how to listen. It’s a skill we must remember.

– Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger