Cheryl E. Leonard has been awarded one of this year's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program Grants from the National Science Foundation. In November and December 2008 she will journey to Palmer Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula to create musical compositions using natural sounds and materials.

In close partnership with the Antarctic scientific community Leonard will develop a series of works based on the forces that shape environments and ecosystems in the region. Each piece will have a unique subject matter and instrumentation. Sounds for this project will come exclusively from natural sources. While onsite in Antarctica, Cheryl will play amplified natural materials such as ice, rock, water, moss, feathers, shells and bones as musical instruments. She will record compositional elements and improvisations created with these instruments onsite, collect field recordings on the peninsula's islands and in the surrounding seas, and gather a few Antarctic natural objects to use as instruments in live performances.

The musical structures, sound sources, and development process of each piece will reflect that work’s specific subject. Individual compositions will explore sea and land ice, the Antarctic circumpolar current, wind and storm patterns, geological and paleontological histories, human exploration and exploitation, adaptations of life to environmental extremes, and changing terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Themes will focus on topics under current scientific investigation in the region, and highlight connections between the Antarctic Peninsula and global climate change.

While in Antarctica Cheryl will share her adventures "on the Ice" through blogs and online audio journals. Completed musical compositions will be released on DVD and performed in a series of live concerts in 2009.

Stay tuned for more updates as the project unfolds!