The longleaf pine forest is an ecosystem that was once spread throughout ninety million acres of the American Southeast including rural East Texas. Now, only five million acres remain, with under fifty thousand in Texas. It is a delicate ecosystem that must be maintained with frequent fires that clear out other species and create an open, majestic savannah habitat home to endangered species including the red cockaded woodpecker. Commissioned by Houston-based ensemble Loop38, this piece tells the story of this unparalleled tree: its flourishing through natural and indigenous manmade fires, its use to make turpentine during the early settlement days, its widespread destruction at the hands of the lumber barons and sawmills of the early 20th century, and its rebirth with the advent of responsible forestry and prescribed fires. The piece weaves together a tapestry of virtuosic brass features, ambisonic field recordings captured in longleaf forests, videos of longleaf habitats, found sounds, and historical photographs and videos from the East Texas Digital Archive, the Texas Archive of the Moving Image, and The National Archives.

Music and video by Ben Morris

Brian Mangrum, horn
Alexander Ramazanov, trumpet
Cameron Kerl, trombone
Caitlin Mehrtens, harp
Graeme Francis, percussion
Jacob Schafer, violin
Cindy Ahn, violin
Sergein Yap, viola
Chris Ellis, cello
Max Winningham, double bass
Craig Hauschildt, conductor

Recorded in Cole Hall at Stephen F. Austin State University, March 8, 2024. Videography by Trey Cartwright, Ricky Kennedy, and James McMahen. Music recorded by Byron Reinhardt, Katharyn Phillips, Sophia Nunez, and Sound Recording Services at SFASU. Recording session assistance by Blake Buehler and JJ Bartley.

Environmental video and audio soundscapes recorded by Ben Morris using a Canon M50 and Zoom H3-VR at Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary, Boykin Springs at Angelina National Forest, Kisatchie National Forest, Big Thicket National Preserve Sundew and Turkey Creek Units, and Stephen F. Austin State University Native Plant Center.

Additional archival footage and audio:
Smokey Bear PSAs from the U.S. Forest Service, released via the Internet Archive ([ Ссылка ])
Selected bird calls from the Cornell Macaulay Library ([ Ссылка ])
Historical logging footage from Texas Archive of the Moving Image ([ Ссылка ])
Historical photographs from the East Texas Digital Archives at Stephen F. Austin State University ([ Ссылка ])
Pond5 and Adobe Stock

This project is generously funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the states arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additional support from the Texas Commission on the Arts, The Nature Conservancy in Texas, Stephen F. Austin State University Cole Fine Arts Faculty Excellence and School of Music Professional Development Grants, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the City of Houston.

Featuring Shawn Benedict and Pedro Hernandez of the Nature Conservancy’s Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary.

Special Thanks to Jenny Sanders and the Texas Longleaf Team, Shawn Benedict of the Nature Conservancy for a post-concert panel talk, MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston), and Nathan Nabb and Dean Gary Wurtz at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Donate to The Nature Conservancy here to support continued longleaf restoration: [ Ссылка ]

Arts and Culture Texas Feature: [ Ссылка ]

For more information and to purchase scores and parts, visit: [ Ссылка ]

Intro (00:00)
I. Ninety Million Acres (00:18)
II. What East Texas Used to Sound Like (05:26)
III. Lightning Burn (09:16)
IV. Regrowth (13:40)
V. Ten Thousand Years of Manmade Fire (19:19)
VI. Turpentine Blues (22:37)
VII. The Sawmills (27:51)
VIII. Clear Cut (31:41)
IX. The Terrible, Empty Sky (34:43)
X. Old Field (38:20)
XI. Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires (40:46)
XII. Lines of Pines (43:03)
XIII. Prescribed Burn (48:47)
XIV. Dawn Chorus (54:01)
XV. Trees as Old as Earth (56:10)
End Credits (1:00:59)

#longleaf #natureconservation #chambermusic #longleafrestoration #multimedia

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