de/composition 1.2: Native Trees, Sonic Roots

About this event

This multimedia exploration will encompass an evening of experimental ambient music and video projections inspired by the local watershed. de/composition is an immersive experience that brings together music, movement, and captivating visuals to explore the natural world of Olney and Tacony Creek Park. The performance celebrates the plants, animals, water, trees, and other living things that share the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed with us. Through live music, nature sounds, moving images, and stories about our connection to the environment, de/composition invites audiences to slow down, listen, and experience the world around them in a new way. Through distinct ambient sonic improvisation and a lush, moving visual backdrop grounded in ecological stories, it’s a project that aims to align our vibrations with those of the trees, water, birds and other wildlife in our midst. Philadelphia DJ, producer, sound designer, and music experimentalist June Lopez leads de/composition as composer, performer, and conductor. Lopez combines sounds recorded from nature with live instrumental and electronic music, creating an evolving soundscape inspired by the natural environment and the many cultures that make up Philadelphia’s Olney neighborhood. The performance also features moving visuals by collaborating video artists Samara Talkin and Neil Cippon. Their dreamlike imagery reflects the beauty and diversity of the natural eco-system, creating an evocative visual world that changes along with the music. Narration and movement by Dr. Jamé McCray expounds on these natural elements, weaving in stories of our human connection to them. Following the successful debut of de/composition: Native Trees, Sonic Roots on June 27, 2026, de/composition 1.2: Native Trees, Sonic Roots will be performed on Saturday, October 3, 2026, also at Bennett Compost. Each performance will be unique, with new sounds, visuals, and performers becoming part of the experience. We welcome Latin folk percussionists - Christian Noguera, Andrés Cisneros and Esteban “El Tongo” Hernández - to the music ensemble for the October 3rd performance! de/composition is supported by a Tree Forward grant from TreePhilly, a Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Program; PHMC, and William Penn Foundation. Additional thanks go to our participating partners: Bennett Compost, TreePhilly, Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, Discovery Center at Fairmount Park, Grover Washington Jr. Middle School and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. *** The project is the brainchild of June Lopez and Olney Cultural Lab’s founder and executive producer Ambrose Liu. de/composition embodies a deep alignment over twelve years in the making. It grows out of our ongoing reciprocal partnership with the holistic Olney community – the twin eco-systems of the urban green space in our midst and the local immigrant cultures of varying traditions. Both inspire us and are brought together in conversation through de/composition. de/composition will continue into 2027 when it will culminate with two performances featuring the inclusion of the larger music ensemble later in the year. (WARNING: Intense lighting will be used during this show. It will not be safe for those with epilepsy and other conditions with sensitivity to light.)