Tides:Estuary is a collaboration-in-progress between composer Cheryl E. Leonard and visual artist Rebecca Haseltine comprised of installations and musical compositions based on aspects of tidal flows in estuaries. Topics explored in the work include: water patterns and cycles, the dynamic equilibrium of environments in flux, and how life adapts to these changing conditions. Salt, water, shells, mud, sand, rocks, kelp and more are played as musical instruments and many of these same materials are used in creating the visual art components of the project. Pieces for Tides: Estuary are currently in development and we have been commissioned by The Illuminated Corridor to create an outdoor performance/ installation of this project which will be presented in the spring of 2009 at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, California.

In its natural state, Oakland’s waterfront was comprised of hundreds of acres of salt marshes and shallow tidelands, which supported a rich and complex ecosystem. Dredging and fill for military, port, and commercial uses have greatly reduced the habitat in size and quality. By 1935, fill had extended some areas of the Oakland shoreline nearly two miles into the bay! Middle Harbor is located on some of these former tidal wetlands. The site was developed into the Oakland Naval Supply Depot, an important supply center for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet from World War II until 1998. The Port of Oakland took over the site in 1998 to restore its natural habitat and to create a public park, with an interest in promoting local history and ecology.

Using natural materials from the park, Rebecca and I will be creating work that highlights elements of the Oakland estuary ecosystem and the restoration of shallow wildlife habitats currently underway in Middle Harbor. We will be working closely with the Port of Oakland, environmental planners and naturalists, and members of the local community throughout the project. On the musical side of things I will be once again be composing for a trio comprised of my long-term musical collaborators, Ann Dentel and Karen Stackpole, and myself.

Special thanks to everyone who has donated to the Illuminated Corridor Commissioning Fund so far. We have met our challenge for a matching grant of $4000 from the East Bay Community Foundation for Artists! You can still help support the project by making a tax-deductible donation in any amount at: http://illuminatedcorridor.com/donate.html.