Chicago Reader - Explore the city’s ‘more-than-human soundtrack’

Chicago Reader
By Jennifer Smart
July 9, 2024

Jay Pritzker Pavilion’s multichannel speaker system is uniquely equipped for artists crafting experimental sonic compositions. Credit: David Alvarado for Chicago Reader

When Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) and AntennaeProject take over Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion this summer, audiences will hear lots of familiar sounds: the beeping of CTA trains, summer cicadas, the bucket boys of Michigan Avenue, and waves from Lake Michigan crashing on the beach. The Pritzker Pavilion is well-known as the home for live music and dance performances during the summer, but performers will be notably absent from the stage during this event, an auditory exhibition titled “the urban+nature sonic pavilion.” Instead, recordings of 14 sonic compositions submitted by artists worldwide will be programmed and projected through the pavilion’s massive speaker system.