Bernie Krause’s 'The Great Animal Orchestra' Showcases the Sound – and Growing Silence – of Ecosystems

Bernie Krause has spent more than 50 years capturing the sounds of nature and examining how animals make harmonious ecosystem soundscapes. His art installation, The Great Animal Orchestra, combining Krause’s audio recordings with stunning visuals representing the frequencies of animal sounds is on display at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The exhibition, presented in partnership with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, features rich soundscapes of dozens of animal species from across the globe, including the Amazon Rainforest and the depths of the Pacific Ocean, but Krause says the silences in the recordings also tell a story– of populations in decline, nearing extinction, or being drowned out by encroaching human-made noise.  We’ll talk to Krause about the sounds and silences in the natural world.