Learn to Sing Like a Whale

Join this participatory deep dive into the multimillion-year-old musical tradition of whale song, with a focus on humpback whales. We will discuss the 50-year intervention of whale song into human musical culture, as well as the ongoing human incursion into the oceans via noise and plastic. We will practice deep listening, explore some enticing new directions in machine learning-aided deep listening, and learn to sing like whales together.

Kyle McDonald is an artist working with code. He crafts interactive and immersive audiovisual installations, performances, and new tools for creative exploration—building new communities and collaborations along the way. He uses techniques from computer vision and machine learning to ask questions about how we connect—and to imagine a shared future. Previously adjunct professor at NYU’s ITP, member of F.A.T. Lab, community manager for openFrameworks, he also consults for corporate clients and leads workshops on new technologies. Work commissioned, collected, and shown internationally, including: the V&A, NTT ICC, Ars Electronica, Sonar, and Eyebeam.