Building Sounds at Charlotte Street Arts Centre Residency - First Etude: West Stairwell
Part of a larger sound art residency at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, this work-in-progress etude is an analysis and repurposing of sounds documented in the 140 year-old building's west stairwell. This liminal space is home to many resonances, both active and dormant. The challenge of this project was to understand a portion of the affordance of this space by activating sounds in peculiar ways. I would thump on the railings, remove transients of resonating metal, perform on a cymbal at various floor levels, and process these moments to reveal their subtle intricacies. It’s about hearing what is not often heard, and listening deeper than what is typical in a space such as this.
About the residency:
What sound does a building make? And how can these sounds be used to aid in the composition of new music? These are just a few of the questions I plan to explore throughout my residency at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre (CSAC).
To create this first composition, I chose to explore the West Stairwell.
Between July 2024 and February 2025, I will be exploring, recording, and composing new music using this 140 year old building as my main instrument. Check the Charlotte Street Arts Centre socials often for updates on this project.
This residency was made possible through support received from the New Brunswick Arts Board.
Listen to the first etude - West Stairwell:
Residency Info
“What sound does a building make? And how can these sounds be used to aid in the composition of new music? These are just a few of the questions sound artist Charles Harding plans to explore when he begins his residency at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre (CSAC) later this summer.”
- Grid City Magazine
I am so excited a proud to have been invited to be Charlotte Street Art Centre’s Artist in Residence for 8 months starting in July. It is a huge step in my career and I can’t wait to see what amazing new sounds come from this experience. It will be an in-depth exploration of the 140 year old building that is home to the centre.
As a composer and sound artist specializing in electroacoustic/soundscape composition, I explore the intricate relationships between nature and technology through computer-based music. My creative journey delves into the intersections of human activity and its impacts on the rest of nature, employing field recordings to design immersive sonic narratives.
During my residency, I will employ a variety of microphones and recording techniques to capture sounds in and around CSAC. Creaky floor boards, echoing stairways, a potter’s spinning wheel, and the percussive rhythms of weekly dance classes are just a few of the sounds available they I’ll aim to collect and manipulate during the residency.
This eighth month residency, made possible through ArtsNB’s Artist in Residence grant program, will stretch from the warm summer months to the coldest nights of the year providing a full range of seasonal sonic possibilities. Each month, CSAC will share a new soundscape composition accompanied by a short video explaining the piece and the source material. The residency will also include open studio sessions, and a live performance with a Q&A, and CSAC’s first immersive audio gallery exhibitions.
I’ll be in residence from July 2024 until February 2025.
Charlotte Street Arts Centre
https://www.charlottestreetarts.ca/
The Charlotte Street Arts Centre is a unique community of entrepreneurs in the arts, culture and wellness sectors, as well as provincial arts and culture organizations, and individual artists in a wide variety of disciplines (music, dance, new media, visual arts, etc). The Charlotte Street Arts Centre facility is a registered nonprofit charity.
The Charlotte Street Arts Centre officially opened for business as an arts facility in 2005, and in 2006 became part of the Local Historic Places Register (municipal). The Charlotte Street Arts Centre acquired Provincial Historic Site status in 2009.
In 2008, the Foyer, front staircases and landings on two floors of the CSAC were officially established as the Charlotte Glencross Gallery (in honour of founding member Charlotte Glencross who passed away October 2007). Regular exhibitions are featured in this space and have been since 2006. In 2009, as part of the City of Fredericton/ Canadian Heritage Cultural Capitals 2009 projects, they developed their backyard into a Culture Garden, featuring high caliber outdoor installation art.