We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Edwards a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Currently, I’ve been primarily focused on a soundscape titled Everywhere We Are is the Farthest Place. It features field recordings of glacial activity and oceanographic data I gathered while on a sailing expedition above the 78th parallel in Svalbard. It’s an ode rather than an elegy to the transforming Arctic and Space Analogues. Each movement is based on an eyewitness account of a natural event—an iceberg torrent, calving glaciers, whale song and the converging streams of subterranean rivers—sonically recreated and reimagined as a score that also pays an homage to the isolation and wonder of Terrestrial Analogue sites—places on Earth with assumed past or present geological, environmental or biological conditions of a celestial body such as the Moon or Mars—where NASA sends their astronauts to train for space exploration such as the Arctic desert of the Svalbard and Jan Mayen Archipelago.

I initially intended for it to be a fixed recorded work for sound installation, however, there have been additional iterations of this project over the past year: progressive composition performances, multimedia presentations, short films, readings and recently, visual music and sound—small environmental text scores and graphic notation. Although a component of the larger project, I’m really excited about these.

Going to the Arctic and getting as close as I could to the North Pole has been a quest since I was 12 years old. I first read extensively about the Polar regions, particularly around Baffin Island and Norway when my parents gifted me a subscription to National Geographic. I distinctly remember an aerial-view image—taken from a helicopter—that depicted a group of oceanographers entering a fjord in a Zodiac boat. I knew immediately I wanted to be there, in that scenario, in the capacity of an artist working with scientists to capture the sounds of the deep and the calving glaciers. I was interested in all areas of art, especially music, and I was trying to figure out how to combine them with other fields. I would discover, with the encouragement of my family, one could engage in a multi- or interdisciplinary practice, and there are no limitations. It was my great fortune many years later to realize the dream of becoming an environmental composer and doing just that, in the very place I had envisioned on paper. I was accepted into the very competitive Arctic Circle Arts and Sciences Residency, and sailed with a small but mighty cohort and crew far as Ny-Alesůnd, a settlement of Arctic research stations amongst the natural wonders on the island of Spitsbergen.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began my career as a writer, a producer, a voice artist and a composer/sound designer, which is my core facet. Learning a variety of skills was and still is part of the adventure. At some point in my own projects and creativity, I utilize all the knowledge I’ve accumulated. I formalized my interests by earning an interdisciplinary MFA in Sound and Architecture. My intent was to work with sonic and spatial variables and create temporal installations that address the ephemerality of nature and history. The pivotal moment of my shifting to environmental music trajectory was when I was introduced to the work of sound artists and composers like Janet Cardiff and John Luther Adams, the latter with whom I eventually performed. I also have a multi stylistic ensemble. I am known for thinking beyond the box for creative problem solving, whether scoring for film, theater or developing conceptual pieces of public art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Knowing that I am not alone in my creative assessment, and continually tapping into the intuitive to emotionally access those who engage in my work because they feel situated in the place they land (or soar) when they listen.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I’ve often been asked a variation on the question of how does one get “here?” The easy answer is to never give up, because there is no singular destination. There’s also the fiscal inquiry. There is a notion that we don’t place monetary value on our work, and that it is up to others’ jurisdiction on how and if we should be compensated for our services. Many non-creatives (and even some creatives) are surprised that an artist can self-advocate and maintain a professional acumen. The culture has long emphasized that someone else handle the “business end.” Much like arts and sciences, art and business don’t have to be separate. There seems to be a misconception about creatives and work structure. It think it is safe to say we are always conceptualizing, whether sleeping or awake, and solution-seeking as well as question making are often on our minds. Our knowledge and time has value, as does what we materialize. A schedule or regimen, however, is very important for self-care and also the health of your practice, in any field.

Contact Info:

• Website: maryedwardsmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryedwards/