Antarctic Waves

Our central aim for Antarctic Waves was to offer a unique collection of creative tools for making music inspired by the important scientific work being explored in Antarctica.

When asked to make an educational resource to accompany the commission of the Sir Peter Maxwell davies symphony, it was clear to us that at one of the scale we could make a documentary-style cd-rom which would simply record a standard educational prccess, or at the other end of the scale, we could place cutting edge science in the hands of students in a way that could allow them to make music. The difference between a resource that allows students to study music from afar and a toolkit that encourages hands-on engagement is enormous, and it was an easy decision to try for the latter despite not knowing quite how we would achieve that.

We estimated that the 'market' for such a toolkit would be teachers with varying degrees of experience, knowledge and competence in teaching composition. We felt that Antarctic Waves could at the least provide an interesting alternative set of starting points and at the most provide a wide ranging set of ideas offering ways to engage in composing.

Provision of videos and audio tracks of the Antarctic enables users of the CD-Rom to get a sense of what the Antarctic is really like.

We wanted Antarctic Waves to encourage young musicians to create new musical works inspired by the last great wilderness, specifically using the toolkit in their own musical styles to give musical expression to data that reflects global problems, such as climate change.

Finally, we wanted Antarctic Waces to be an opportunity for teachers and students to create a cross-cultural bridge between science and arts. We believe that Antarctic Waves taps into young people’s deep interest in environmental issues and explores Antarctica’s importance in understanding our fragile planet. We hope that it stimulates creative activity and ask that users of Antarctic Waves let us know how successfully our intentions for the potential of this resource have been realised in the classroom.



Why We Made Antarctic Waves Our central aim for Antarctic Waves was to offer a unique collection of creative tools for making music inspired by the important scientific work being explored in Antarctica. When asked to make an educational resource to accompany the commission of the Sir Peter Maxwell davies symphony, it was clear to us that at one of the scale we could make a documentary-style cd-rom which would simply record a standard educational prccess, or at the other end of the scale, we could place cutting edge science in the hands of students in a way that could allow them to make music. The difference between a resource that allows students to study music from afar and a toolkit that encourages hands-on engagement is enormous, and it was an easy decision to try for the latter despite not knowing quite how we would achieve that. We estimated that the 'market' for such a toolkit would be teachers with varying degrees of experience, knowledge and competence in teaching composition. We felt that Antarctic Waves could at the least provide an interesting alternative set of starting points and at the most provide a wide ranging set of ideas offering ways to engage in composing. Provision of videos and audio tracks of the Antarctic enables users of the CD-Rom to get a sense of what the Antarctic is really like. We wanted Antarctic Waves to encourage young musicians to create new musical works inspired by the last great wilderness, specifically using the toolkit in their own musical styles to give musical expression to data that reflects global problems, such as climate change. Finally, we wanted Antarctic Waces to be an opportunity for teachers and students to create a cross-cultural bridge between science and arts. We believe that Antarctic Waves taps into young people’s deep interest in environmental issues and explores Antarctica’s importance in understanding our fragile planet. We hope that it stimulates creative activity and ask that users of Antarctic Waves let us know how successfully our intentions for the potential of this resource have been realised in the classroom.