Elderflora: the life and death OF A TREE
Photograpy by Carlin Ma
ELDERFLORA is a musical journey inside the mind of a tree, from birth by fire to death by lightning. Written and performed by Majel Connery (vocals, synths) in collaboration with Felix Fan (electric cello), Elderflora crosses lush electronic landscapes with haunting vocal manipulations to evoke the inner world of an old tree.
“Like a secret collaboration between Laurie Anderson and Arthur Russell.”
BIOS
Majel Connery is a composer, performer, and musicologist with a vivid imagination. She believes that nature has a voice, and that we can learn to hear it. Her immersive musical experiences fuse classical precision with live electronics to dissolve the boundaries between human and natural worlds. Connery’s voice has been called “superb” by the New York Times and her music “thoroughly Schubertian” by the Wall Street Journal. In radio, Connery wrote music for 5 episodes of the podcast Radiolab, and performed with Radiolab Live. Her song cycle The Rivers are our Brothers has been toured and recorded by Grammy-winning choir, Chanticleer.
Felix Fan has performed with Yo-Yo Ma, members of Sonic Youth, Wilco and The National, and tours annually with Sigur Ros. Fan has appeared in venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Musikverein and Royal Festival Hall. In the world of film, he worked with director Charlie Kaufman and the Coen Brothers on a live radio play featuring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Steve Buchemi. A member of FLUX Quartet, Fan has been featured onscreen and in soundtracks for director Matthew Barney and collaborated with choreographers Pam Tanowitz, Shen Wei and Christopher Wheeldon.
Notes:
Length: Between 20 minutes and 1 hr.
Optional video installation by time-lapse photographer Noah Kalina
Elderflora premiered at Seattle Symphony/Octave 9 in Sept 2024 and has since been toured to The Exploratorium (San Francisco), Chapel of the Chimes (Oakland), UNM Art Museum (ABQ), Reed College, and the Stanley Art Museum (Iowa City) in a variety of arrangements. In 2025-26, it travels to Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh), Chatter (ABQ, Santa Fe, Portland), the University of Oregon, the World Forestry Center (Portland, OR) and to Australia (with Bowerbird Collective).