News / Wild Place Project
Bears at Wild Place Project enjoy private concert
Bears at the Wild Place Project have been serenaded by a quartet of musicians who have composed a song using one of the furry animal’s heartbeat as a tempo.
Sacconi Quartet came to the north Bristol animal park to play Lament for a Bulgarian Dancing Bear live, whch uses the slow rhythm of Albie the bear’s heartbeat, on one note, throughout the piece.
The song, which was composed by Roxanna Panufnik, is the third single on her new album, Heartfelt, and the Sacconi Quartet played to the the bears in celebration the album launch and to thank staff at Wild Place Project for their help in bringing the piece to life.
is needed now More than ever
Roxanna and the quartet played Lament for a Bulgarian Dancing Bear to Albie under the canopy of trees at the zoo’s Bear Wood exhibit after it had closed to the public.
“I had been searching for a zoo which could help me hear the sound of a bear’s heartbeat, says Roxanna.
“Fortunately a musician friend put me in touch with Wild Place Project and their head vet, Michelle Barrows, was able to capture an audio recording of Albie’s heartbeat while he was under general anaesthetic for a routine veterinary procedure. I was so excited to receive the recording – listening to it for the first time was incredible.”
The piece is inspired by the plight of Bulgarian dancing bears, which was outlawed in 2007.
Albie’s heartbeat plays as the same note of F sharp and Roxanna says it “really underpins” the piece.
“It is a pleasure to host Roxanna and the Sacconi Quartet,” says Will Walker, animal manager at Wild Place Project. “The bears are used to having visitors, but they will never have heard anything like this before.
“This poignant composition is about the plight of Bulgarian dancing bears – an activity which is thankfully now outlawed.
“But it serves to remind us how spectacular these animals are and how they should be respected and admired in their natural environment, as they are here alongside wolves, lynx and wolverine in the woodland at Wild Place Project.”
Main photo: Wild Place Project
Read more: UK’s largest brown bear exhibit opening soon in Bristol
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