Discover amazing music by going on this interactive website, to find a tree in Kensington Gardens and listen to a composition created just for that tree.

In 2019, ‘Music for Trees’, an interactive geo-located music app featuring original music written by young composers for trees in Regent’s Park, was launched. The project was initiated by arboriculturist Matt Steinmann.

In a continuation of the project, 17 composers from the Royal College of Music have composed works for 190 trees in Kensington Gardens, including 32 unique species. ‘Treephonia: Kensington Gardens’ is an immersive soundscape that invites listeners to engage meaningfully with the trees of Kensington Gardens and seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of the environment and the threats it faces. It is hoped that through Treephonia, listeners will forge stronger relationships with their surrounding environment.

Each composer conducted a close observation of their tree over the course of 10 months – from its leaves, flowers and fruits to its complex root systems. They listened to and conversed with their tree and studied its interaction with surrounding trees. Reflecting the harmonious and symbiotic coexistence of the many trees of Kensington Gardens, Treephonia explores not only the unique voice of each tree, but how they vocalise together.
Visit the Kensignotn Gardens click on the website and find our tree, then listen to a composition while there.
Open during daytime hours

Acknowledgments

Website creator Andrew Zhou
Website programmers Andrew Zhou, Ben Munro
Music editors Jack Gionis, Ben Munro, Andrew Zhou

Musicians Danny Cleave (London Plane), Hannah Gillingham (London Plane), Connor Gingell (Norwegian Maple), Locus Ensemble: Zacharias Wolfe, Simone Geda and Lucía Polo Moreno (Lucombe Oak, Rowan, Indian Horse Chestnut), Izabela Stefańska (Caucasian Elm), Rennie Sutherland (Common Yew)

Art directors Alice Zhou, Andrew Zhou, Jack Gionis
Illustrator Jack Gionis

Photographer and copy editor Alice Zhou

Photo editor Evan Tutton

With special thanks to staff of the Royal College of Music: William Mival (Head of Composition), Stephen Johns (Artistic Director), Lizzie Sambrook (Assistant to the Artistic Director and the Director of Programmes), and Alex Beattie and Emma Diss (Composition Faculty Officers).