Selected Musical Works

2021

SCHISM, Digital album/cassette, field recordings, coil pickup recordings, and sounds played on amplified natural materials, glass, and metal intermingle in two compositions (Schism, Eremozoic) about the extinction crisis

UNSTABLE MATERIAL, in situ improvisations on and near ruins of military installations at Marin Headlands; field recordings of buoys, surf, and wind; stones, rusty metal, ceramic tiles, and kelp flutes

EREMOZOIC, for ocean waves resonating in antique glass bottles, and field recordings of ocean surf and birds

Bone Slug

2020

SCHISM, for inductor recordings of an old laptop computer, field recordings of insects, birds, bats, and squirrels; sounds played on sand, feathers, bones, rocks, kelp flutes, glass bowls, and metal bowl gongs

SIREN SONGS, for three glass discs, the Pacific Ocean, bowed clamshells, and sand – SFMOMA’s Open Space

DEATH IS GROWING IN HIS EYES, for animal bones, driftwood, and glass bottles – International Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, Santa Tirso, Portugal

2019

WATERSHED, CD/digital album, field recordings and sounds from amplified natural materials, glass, and metal are intertwined in three compositions (Confluences, Frozen Over, and Watershed) that explore water in California

AS WIND IS TO WEATHER, for field recordings of wind & rain on wire fence, rain on loch, water beetles, wind in tree branches, wind in heather, and stones

INDUCTOR, for sand, stones, kelp flutes, inductor recording of an old laptop, and field recordings of birds, bats, and insects – Peacock Lounge, San Francisco

Studio photo - instruments

2018

BREKANT, for glass bottles, granite slab, and field recordings from Norway of wind on the edge of the Folgefonna Glacier and birds in Roaldsdalen

CONFLUENCES (concert version), for shells, crab claws, bird bones, driftwood, pebbles, glass, rocks, kelp flutes, and field recordings of San Diego shorelines threatened by sea level rise

Cheryl Leonard - seaside

2017

CONFLUENCES, art/music installation about extreme high sea level events comprised of glass and driftwood instruments, field recordings of shorelines threatened by sea level rise, and sounds from stones and kelp flutes – Weather on Steroids: The Art of Climate Change Science Exhibition, La Jolla Historical Society Wisteria Cottage Gallery, La Jolla, CA; San Diego Central Library Gallery, San Diego, CA

SLOUGH, for water, glass, stones, sand, and field recordings of streams and oceans – Re:Sound River Bank, Vallejo, CA; 63 Bluxome Gallery, San Francisco, CA

RESPIRARE LIGNO, for amplified driftwood – on This Music Plants Trees 2, from Aural Films

THE LONGEST AND SHORTEST DAYS, for kelp flutes and the ringing rocks of Butte, MT

Singing stones

2011 - 2019

ADFREEZE PROJECT, a series of multidisciplinary installations and live performances (including MONACOBREEN, ICELINE, MOFFEN, and GLUGGE) which portray the Svalbard region of the Arctic, a collaboration with visual artist Oona Stern – Augustana College, Rock Island, IL; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL; David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA; Outsound New Music Summit, San Francisco, CA; New Music Festival, California State University Fullerton; University of Colorado, Boulder; Shapeshifter Cinema, Oakland, CA; Soundwave 6 Festival, San Francisco, CA; University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA; BYTE Gallery International Exhibition, Studio 300 Digital Art and Music Festival, Lexington, KY; Insomnia Festival of Future Music and Technology, Kurant Gallery, Tromsø, Norway

Miking a glacier

2009 - 2019

ANTARCTICA: MUSIC FROM THE ICE , a set of ten compositions (LULLABY FOR E SEALS, GREATER THAN 20 KNOTS, BRASH ICE, ROOKERIE, POINT EIGHT ICE, WHITE ON WHITE, ABLATION ZONE, MELTWATER, OCEANUS MERIDIEM, and SOUTHERN OCEAN) for natural materials and field recordings from the Antarctic Peninsula – Augustana College, Rock Island, IL;University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL;David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA;Sound Transitions Festival, Université Paris 8 – Saint-Denis, France; Balance Unbalance Conference, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; University of Colorado, Boulder; Shapeshifter Cinema, Oakland, CA; San Francisco Tape Music Festival; Emerald Tablet, San Francisco, CA; University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA; Sabaco Music & Cafe, Tokyo; Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA; IceFest, Christchurch, New Zealand; Fort Collins Museum of Art and Fort Collins Community College, Fort Collins, CO; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL; Antarctic Music Festival, Australia National University, Canberra; Soundwave 4 Green Sound Festival, the Lab, San Francisco, CA; Activating the Medium Festival, The Lab, San Francisco, CA; Mills College, Oakland, CA; Djerassi Artists Salon, Monte Sereno, CA; Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Cheryl Leonard - music from the ice

2016

ASTERISMS, for dirt, stones, tree branches, and autumn leaves; commissioned for Hope Mohr Dance’s Bridge Project: Ten Artists Respond to Locus – Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, San Francisco, CA; 63 Bluxome Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2015 - 2016

THALASSA, four music compositions to accompany visual artworks by Genevieve Swifte – .M Contemporary Gallery, Sydney, Australia; Center for New Music, San Francisco, CA; The Nunnery, San Francisco, CA; School of Art Gallery, Australia National University, Canberra, ACT

Cheryl Leonard - Thalassa

2015

FOREST PHRASE, field recordings and photography of eucalypt forests in southeastern Australia, exhibition in collaboration with visual artist Genevieve Swifte – School of Art Gallery, Australia National University, Canberra, ACT

THRESHOLD, Arctic video and sound piece, collaboration with visual artist Genevieve Swifte – University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL;School of Art Gallery, Australia National University, Canberra, ACT; Outsound New Music Summit, San Francisco

FROZEN OVER, for field recordings of frozen lakes, Japanese bowl gongs, shells, and stones, with live video performance by Rebecca Haseltine – Outsound New Music Summit, San Francisco; Re:Sound, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA; Shapeshifters Cinema, Oakland, CA

WATERSHED, for water, shells, sand, kelp, glass, and field recordings, with live video performance by Rebecca Haseltine – Shapeshifters Cinema, Oakland, CA; Re:Sound, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA; Center for New Music, San Francisco

BODYSCAPE, sound and dance performance, collaboration with composer Luca Forcucci and dancer/choreographer Crystal Sepúlveda – The Lab, San Francisco, CA; Temescal Art Center, Oakland, CA

Cheryl Leonard on Stage

2014

FORMFIELDS, music for natural-object instruments, created for a live video performance by Angie Eng – Roulette, Brooklyn, NY

2013

ICE RIVER, for kelp and shell instrument with field recordings – on the CD Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup: People Make Things That Make Sounds, Eh? Records

2012

SILA, Arctic video and sound piece, collaboration with visual artist Genevieve Swifte – David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA; San Francisco Electronic Music Festival; Museo de Arte Tigre, Argentina; Galeri de Arte Contemporaneo de Xalapa, Mexico; Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, Australia

ERGLINES, a multimedia piece inspired by wind patterns in the desert, collaboration with The Lumiaks (Angie Eng and Sofi Hémon) – Maison Populaire, Paris, France

POLARNATT, for stones and shells from the Arctic and Antarctic, penguin bones and glass, with field recordings from Spitsbergen – San Francisco Electronic Music Festival; Fort Collins Museum of Art and Fort Collins Community College, Fort Collins, CO; Alameda Public Library, Alameda, CA; Koinonia Experimental Music Festival, Berkeley, CA

PORTHOLES, CD/digital album of nine compositions created in collaboration with German improviser/vocalist Anka Draugelates

Cheryl Leonard collaborations

2011

TRIPLE POINT, for alto saxophone doubling on soprano saxophone, and water/glass instrument, commissioned by Michael Straus – 70.8% Aqua Acoustic Music Festival, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

VIOLA MISOGI NO.1, for viola solo

2010

AERIAL MENAGERIE, for 4 performers on driftwood and eucalyptus bark, commissioned by Kronos Quartet – Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA

CHATTERMARKS: FIELD RECORDINGS FROM PALMER STATION, ANTARCTICA, CD/digital album, recordings of wildlife and natural soundscapes from the Antarctic Peninsula

TENDERSWITCH PART I: A DANCE ON THE BRINK OF THE WORLD, created music for an outdoor site-specific performance by Pythia Dance – Jack London Aquatic Center, Oakland, CA

DANSE POUR LES MOUCHES, a collaborative performance with dancers Rajendra Serber and Stephanie Auberville, video artist Bulk Foodveyor, and musician Matt Davidnon – The Garage, San Francisco

QUINCE MISSING, soundtrack for sections of Rajendra Serber’s dance film

FLOWN, for piano

Cheryl Leonard - bone instrument

2009

TIDES: ESTUARY, music for shells, mud, sand, water, salt, feathers, wood, marsh reeds, kelp and stones- a collaboration with visual artist Rebecca Haseltine – Western Sky Studios, Berkeley, CA; Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco; Illuminated Corridor at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, Oakland, CA

Shell instrument

2008

NÄCHTE, for two performers on water, sand, stones and field recordings – Mountain Computer Music Festival, University of Montana at Missoula

STRATA, for 16-20 performers playing natural-object instruments on two stages and throughout the venue – Art and Place Site Symposium, University of Montana at Missoula

ADRIAN, for out-of-tune piano

THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE, THE CIRCLE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, soundtracks for video works by Philip Bonner – Artist Studio at San Francisco Recycling and Disposal, Inc.

PORCUPINE BONITA, DOLORES SUGAR HIGH, POMOLOGY, soundtracks for video dance films by Rajendra Serber

2007

HALINITY, for solo performer on salt, water, shells, glass and kelp – NWEAMO 2007 International Festival of Electro-Acoustic Music, Boulder, CO; Hunter’s Point Shipyard Open Studios, San Francisco

MUSIC FOR ROCKS & WATER 8 works (UMI, JIKU, HIMO, ASHIMAME, HIBAKU, SHINDOU, TENCHI and UZUMAKI) for amplified rocks, and sand and water instruments – Exploratorium, San Francisco, Luggage Store Gallery, SF; Placespace Gallery, California College of Arts, SF; Music for People and Thingamajigs Festival, 21 Grand, Oakland; Improv:21 Series, San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum; Palais Ideal Festival, Chico, CA; 2+2 Series, 21 Grand, Oakland, CA

Bowing a tree

2006

SNOW, for viola, pinecone, and shakuhachi

LINGERING, for viola and Japanese bowl gongs

2005

ZIRAN, for 3 players on rocks, bones, feathers, water, ice, pinecones, grass, roots, and wood; a series of 5 pieces inspired by Tang Dynasty Chinese wilderness poetry – Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA; 21 Grand, Oakland, CA; New Music on the Mountain, The Mountain Theater at Mt. Tamalpais; Field Effects 22 at 964 Natoma, San Francisco

creature instrument

2004

MOUNTAIN KATA, for soprano and stones – Jazz House, Berkeley, CA; 21 Grand, Oakland, CA

HAN SHAN TREE, site-specific sculpture constructed in an oak tree – Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA

LIGHT PUT CAREFULLY, for 3 players on: glass, viola & glass, cello & glass – Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco; The Lab, San Francisco

2003

INSTRUMENTS IN TREES, for arboreal materials and strings – The Lab, San Francisco; 964 Natoma, San Francisco; Black Box Theater, Oakland, CA; Engine 27, NY, NY

REQUIEM (If Birds Could Speak They Couldn’t Fly), solo piano

GOOD GUY BAD GUY, soundtrack for RK Corral’s space-western film

prepared cello

2002

FABLE, for tape and boxspring mattress, music for a dance/theater performance by RK Corral – The San Francisco Butoh Festival, Cowell Theater

DONA NOBIS PACEM, for five strings and found metal percussion – Mills College, Oakland, CA

2001

GOOD GUY BAD GUY, composed and performed music for RK Corral’s interdisciplinary space western live performance – The Lab, San Francisco; Highways, Santa Monica; Sushi Gallery, San Diego

1999

THE UNDERWATER FLYING MACHINE, an interactive fountain/sculpture/cockpit – Day of Homemade Instruments at Lincoln Center, NY, NY

EENIE MACY AND THE 10 STEP PROGRAM, composed and performed music for RK Corral’s interdisciplinary performance – The Lab, San Francisco; Highways, Santa Monica; Seattle Fringe Festival

BAHINI, for solo cello or solo viola – New Music North, Thunder Bay, Ontario (performed in 2004)

1998

NAKED, for piano – Noe Valley Ministry, San Francisco, also performed at Mills College, Oakland (1999); Spruce Street Gallery, San Diego (1999); Greenwich House, NYC (1999); Goodspeed Hall, University of Chicago (1999)

SNORKEL, for 4 players of water and clarinets, and tape – The Lab, San Francisco

17,435 FEET, for viola

GRASS, for 10 or more players on blades of grass

SHOES, for 1 performer, 1 stranger, and a pair of shoes

BOXE, for amplified boxspring mattress and tape – Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

1997

TOPOS, for four players on glass – The Lab, San Francisco, and The Yellow Room, Oakland, also performed at Beyond Baroque Literary Center, Venice, CA (1998), Big Sur Experimental Music Festival, Henry Miller Library (2000)

A HISTORY OF INSECTS, for erhu, viola, cello, bass, and four percussionists – Cell Performance Space, San Francisco

Pinecone tree instrument

1996

DREAM ABOUT FLYING, for 14 accordions – Bay Area Awards Show, New Langton Arts, San Francisco; also performed at OPUS 415, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (1998)

THE MAKING-SMASHING MACHINE: A LIVING VESSEL, a sculpture with interactive music, collaboration with Swedish sculptor Anna Hallin – Nexus Gallery, Berkeley; Works Gallery, San Jose; Mills College MFA Exhibition

UNTITLED PIANO PIECE BASED ON A GYPSY FOLK SONG, piano – National Association of Composers, Palo Alto Cultural Center

DANCE BEFORE YOU CALCIFY, for viola, tape and butoh movement, with video by George Robbins – Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States National Conference at Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL

NETHER, for Bb clarinet and tape processed foghorn sounds – Mills College, Oakland, CA

Bowing a tube