Seance to Summon a Garden | November 7-9, 2023

In his work, Séance to Summon a Garden, Joshua-Michéle Ross has gathered extensive field recordings from diverse areas across Cal Poly Pomona while visiting the campus in the early Fall of 2023. These sounds --the pulse of a bird’s wing, the calls of a yellow-headed blackbird, lizards nesting, a helicopter buzzing overhead, sprinklers at dawn, and more-- have been assembled into a series of independent, musical clips that participants play and interact with in magical, unique combinations.  Using wireless headphones for an immersive experience, Ross plays the role of a medium, guiding participants to channel their garden “instrument.” Together, they enter “the realm of sonorous being,” where participants rehearse and perform a unique piece of garden music. Each performance will be recorded and published, creating a collaged, sonic portrait of the Southern California ecology site-specific to our gloriously nature-filled campus.  

Séance to Summon a Garden, explores the reparative power of sound, memory, and nature. The experience is one-part old-time radio drama, one-part guided meditation, and one-part high-tech improvisatory orchestra. This is a group-participatory mini-retreat event, intended as a team-building opportunity, for promoting personal mental health, and community-based wellness. It also allows for a short period to view the current show Family Matters which is also QR Code interactive. The Séance experience typically runs 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 min. and will be held at the Huntley Gallery on campus at select times by RSVP and special invitation only. Seating is limited to groups of 15 to 18 participants. All participants are asked to arrive on time to avoid start delays for the entire group/event, and asked to commit with participation throughout the entire session.  

For any accessibility needs please contact michelec@cpp.edu.