Sing and whistle along with Mechanical Nightingales at Barrow Park bandstand this September.  

Awardwinning composer, musician and robotic artist, Sarah Angliss will bring her new automaton sound sculpture to Barrow on September 4.

From 12 noon until 3pm, visitors are invited to sing or whistle their favourite tune and watch while the Mechanical Nightingales try to imitate them.

The birds, specially commissioned for Barrow Park, are accompanied by a ‘xylophone’ made from old spanners collected from around Barrow last year.

Sarah has been invited to Barrow by the town’s sound art and new music organisation, Full of Noises, as part of a summer season of free events at the bandstand.

Sarah’s work reflects an eclectic musical background. A classically-trained composer, she cut her teeth performing on the UK folk scene.

She went on to study electroacoustic engineering, then robotics, alongside music – fields that continue to inform her unique compositional style.

Sarah composes for film and theatre and in 2018 won the Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers. She’s also in demand as a performer.

All Full of Noises bandstand events are drop-in but numbers are controlled so there could be a short wait to gain entry. Face masks and hand gel will be available to anyone requiring them.

Full of Noises are also playing host to a residency by sound artist, Hannah Kemp-Welch this September.

During a previous visit to Barrow in 2018, Hannah connected with Furness Amateur Radio Society. Now returning as a licensed amateur radio operator, a field largely dominated by retired men, Hannah plans to build radio devices that pick up offshore radio transmissions.

She will test effective ways to build radio receivers and spend time on the banks of South Walney Nature Reserve, attempting to intercept coded signals and other mysterious sounds.

Materials developed during this research residency will be shared publicly, with possibilities for a future ‘citizen watchdog’ allowing residents to use DIY very low frequency receivers to hear some of the invisible communications that surround them.

During a very busy month for Full of Noises, they are also involved with the launch of Barrow’s Heritage Action Zone Soundwalk on September 10, produced by Ulverston-based sound artist Dan Fox.

For updates on all Full of Noises events and activities, visit  www.fonfestival.org