Event Detail

The Inaudible Ocean (commissioned by the ProtoStar Group) is the latest collaboration between composer Lei Liang and oceanographer Joshua Jones at the Lei Lab. Many marine mammals—Baird’s, Stejneger’s, and Dall’s porpoises, to name just a few—are deep divers and almost impossible to spot visually. But they make their presence felt through sound—sound that is mostly beyond human hearing. Only when we transform these signals into an experience audible to humans can we begin to appreciate their communication. 

The Inaudible Ocean explores a vast spectrum of audible data, spanning signals from the infrasonic (as low as 10 Hz) to the ultrasonic (up to 160 kHz). For perspective, human music typically occupies a range of 20 to 20 kHz—less than 10% of the frequencies we study. What renders these signals inaudible to humans? It is not only their frequency range but also their temporal scale. For instance, to perceive the richness of certain echolocation signals, we must transpose their frequencies and decelerate the playback by 10 or even 100 times. This process reveals the intricate acoustic “landscape” of the ocean, where valleys and mountains emerge through awe-inspiring echoes. 

The Inaudible Ocean is our journey into the realms beyond human hearing, where technology serves as our tool and curiosity as our compass. Together, scientists and artists craft a “sonic searchlight” to illuminate the hidden wonders of the ocean for our listeners.

Lei Liang’s distinguished colleagues from the music department, Mark Dresser (contrabass), Cory Smyth (piano), and doctoral student Camilo Zamudio-Romero (percussion) will give the world premiere of The Inaudible Ocean.

We warmly invite you to join us for a post-concert reception, generously hosted by the ProtoStar Group.