"The Great Animal Orchestra" by Bernie Krouse

The L.A. Central Library program for Tuesday night was Bernie Krouse talking about his recording of over 15,000 sounds of nature, especially creatures over the past 40 years.  Some of those creatures are now extinct.  He has written a new book entitled "The Great Animal Orchestra:  Finding the origins of Music in the World's Wild Places." 

Bernie is a very talented man who started a music career playing violin and at age 13 played with the Philadelphia orchestra.  He said that puberty kicked in and he switched to the guitar.  He replaced Pete Seeger as the guitarist for "The Weavers."

He began his recording in 1968 in the Muir Woods and was so blown away by the amazing sounds of nature that he decided to devote his life to recording it.  He went to the University of Michigan and then off to get his PhD in Bio-Acustication (or something like that) in 1981.  He records the sounds of the environment and analyzes how the sounds blend and how nature's orchestra plays beautiful music each taking turns like a Beethoven piece.

He talked about the effects of man on this harmonious environment and sometimes tragic effects.  He played the sound of a beautiful pond in Minnesota before and after the ranger blew up a dam built by a family of beavers that created the pond.  The amazing orchestra of sounds was replaced by the sound of the papa beaver who cried all night over the loss of his mate and offspring.  This recording and others demonstrates the empathy and feelings animals have for each other.

His web site is www.wildsanctuary.com.

Check out one of his recordings on ITunes called "Gorillas in the Mix."