You may remember a previous post discussing the unveiling and demonstration of “The Periplanómenos Whistles” at the University of Florida (UF). Visiting art professor, Rotem Tamir, purchased three 12ft 4×8 pieces of sinker cypress from Goodwin to create these beauties. She re-sawed them once more and used a CNC router to carve a sound hole in each. She then glued them back together, cut them to two and three foot lengths and turned them on a lathe.
Each whistle represents an extinct bird from the ancient cypress forest; the ivory billed woodpecker, the Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon. The final piece played here along with the flute ensemble is called Ufly and is a musical representation of all of the different birds you might hear in a southeastern cypress swamp. This was another unique and sustainable project we were excited to be part of!
Here is a short video featuring the unveiling of the whistles, along with a performance by the UF Flute Studio: