Starlings

I love when there is a confluence of ideas that merge together within a short period of time. Such was the case last week for me when starlings emerged from the ether and became front and center of my focus. It started with reading an op-ed piece by David Brooks in the New York Times about how the brain works, and comparing it to the murmurations of starlings. Then just a couple of days later, I saw a flock of them flying together above the farm behind my house, during a snow storm.  It took a few tries to capture them on video, because they disappeared out of view a couple of times before I could get outside with my phone. The third time was the charm, though, and I was able to record this. 

The soundtrack to my video is by Kronos Quartet. It was composed by Jung Yoon Wie. This composition, Starlings, debuted at PS21 Chatham this past summer as part of their Next Festival program. I was lucky enough to witness it. Click here to see a part of their performance live.

To read the article by David Brooks in the New York Times that sparked the thread of associations, click here. The video by Søren Solkaer that accompanies the piece is mesmerizing. I highly recommend checking this out.