What is Ocean Voices?

Sound artist Halsey Burgund and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols joined forces to collect the voices of people around the world recounting their personal experiences with the ocean. Combined with music written by Halsey, these voices become an integral part of a new musical composition and audio collages which listeners can modify to suit their own preferences. Help us by sharing your voice and spreading the words of all participants around the globe.

Click on the LISTEN and SPEAK tabs above to participate.

Ocean Voices has both artistic and conservation goals.

  • to bring together a global community to emphasize how ocean conservation is a global issue
  • to focus on the individual and the individual’s thoughts about the ocean, making it very personal and therefore more impactful
  • to bring together the creative/musical/artistic world with the environmental world, thereby broadening the audience and increasing accessibility
  • to actively solicit grassroots participation from a wide variety of geographic and demographic groups and encourage cross-pollination of ideas
Ocean Voices had its premiere performance at the California Academy of Sciences in June 2010 in celebration of World Ocean Day as well as the 100th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau’s birth. The piece was subsequently performed at the Museum of Science in Boston as well as the Carnegie Institute of Science in Washington, DC as part of Celine Cousteau's Ocean Inspiration event.

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