Immersive audio experience ‘SOUNDWALK’ spotlights the beauty of Coastal Virginia

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid believes Coastal Virginia’s natural areas inspire music, so she created music specifically for a few Hampton Roads locations.

Take a walk along Pleasure House Point Natural Area in Virginia Beach or a portion of the Elizabeth River Trail in Norfolk and tune into “Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK” via an app, and you’ll hear a unique music experience depending on where you are. And because no two visits will be the same, you can explore the regions and listen to new musical creations each time.

“These are unprecedented times,” Reid said in a news release. “We’re all experiencing the anxieties of living in an uncertain world. I hope SOUNDWALK will inspire us and make us feel connected to something larger than ourselves. It is meant to serve as artistic nourishment — a place to recharge, reconnect and re-energize.”

Previously, Reid has created similar projects for New York’s Central Park and Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, but this Virginia Arts Festival partnership project is Reid’s first for Virginia.

The portion of Norfolk’s Elizabeth River Trail featured will include the historic Hague and Freemason neighborhoods, the waterfront Pagoda and the Battleship Wisconsin. The Virginia Beach walk through Pleasure House Point Natural Area showcases acres of sandy shore, sunlit water, tidal marsh and maritime forest.

Reid created musical settings uniquely designed to show off the beauty of both environments, performed by the world-class musicians of SOUNDWALK Ensemble.

“Working with Ellen Reid on this project has been extraordinarily rewarding,” said Virginia Arts Festival Perry Artistic Director Robert W. Cross. “After the challenges of the pandemic, we have sought out new ways for our audiences to experience the performing arts. This project is an innovative response to that need. Our region offers visitors such diversity and beauty, and the music enhances the experience in intensely personal ways.”

To use SOUNDWALK, install the free app and hit start once you begin walking on your chosen trail.

More information can be found at vafest.org. Download instructions can be found at ellenreidsoundwalk.com/download.

Amy Poulter, 757.446.2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com