New Methods Of Wayfinding by Robin McLaughlin published on 2019-02-26T02:52:56Z Commissioned by Emily Loboda for a performance at the 2018 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference In Igloolik, Canada, the indigenous people have developed a nuanced system of navigation. Without many landmarks to guide them, they instead rely on tides, ice, snow formations, and most importantly, the wind, to wayfind. Recently, the introduction ofGPS technology has offered new tools for navigation – but has also perpetuated a decline in the cultural knowledge of navigation which is both society- changing and logistically dangerous. This decline has led to efforts to reconcile old methods with GPS technology – a new method of wayfinding. New Methods of Wayfinding responds to this moment in Igloolik’s history. Building its form out of the psychological structures of this transition, the piece presents a soundworld suggesting a guiding landscape. Genre Classical
