Kingston Waterway Adventure Tours

With the goal of helping people connect more deeply with the surrounding waterways, I am restoring an awesome 1960's guide-boat, converting her to electric propulsion and outfitting her with an immersive sound system for the purpose of providing 2 unique experiences along the Hudson River in upstate New York (Kingston): The Hudson River Maritime History Tour & The Sound Bath.
The first experience is a guided tour of the Kingston Rondout creek and nearby Hudson River, exploring the maritime history of these famous waterways (once the thoroughfare of between the eastern seaboard, the great lakes and the Mississippi river. This tour will include a dynamic (and fun!) sound design, bringing the passengers back in time onto wooden explorer ships, massive barges and the wooden canoes of those who were here long before it was called "America". With original music, spatial sound design and lively narration by the captain, this hour-long tour will give folks a unique glimpse into a port and her river unlike any other.
The second experience of the project will be an immersive "sound bath" meditation along the Hudson River, with the sounds of nature (wind, water, weather, birds, insects & animals) interspersed within an original score of contemplative drones designed to evoke an underwater world (tides, eddies, surges, whales, plankton & air). All of this presented through a dynamic, multichannel surround sound system, with the intention of providing a rich environment to view and contemplate the surrounding beauty of the Hudson River.

I believe that we have become de-sensitized to our waterways... what were once the veins of American trade and the lifeblood for the native people who came before us, have become something to be viewed from a distance, or experienced on fast-moving, thrill-seeking vessels. I hope to create a new kind of way to experience the magnificent Hudson River that will help to create a more palpable understanding of the importance of our waterways.

Funded by On the Water (March 2024)