Cóisir an tSionnan contains a number of media and sound components that when combined represent the totality and ambition of this work.

All available data from the ESB regarding salmon rearing and restocking, as well as other river based data were collected. This allowed us to track salmon that return to the River Shannon from the Atlantic. We were particularly interested in the four-year life cycle of the farmed salmon of the River Shannon. Farmed salmon are electronically tagged with a 1mm microchip inserted into the beak of young fish before being released. This makes it possible to then track and record data about the fish.

The salmon begin their four year journey on the Shannon, crossing the Atlantic as far as the coast of Newfoundland, before returning home again to the Shannon to spawn and die.

We analysed the data received from the ESB and developed an evolutionary algorithm (computer simulation of the life of a salmon) that would "swim" through a river of musical notes gathered from a corpus of 165 traditional Irish melodies relating to the River Shannon and its environs.

Live field sound recordings from the ESB fisheries at Parteen and along the River Shannon itself was compiled to further enhance the sound/music composition. The resulting work has a distinctively Irish flavour.

The finished composition is to be performed in the great Turbine Hall at Ardnacrusha, courtesy of the ESB, Sunday October 20th, 2002. The performance is webcast live from this venue.

A limited edition CD or DVD will be produced after the event and clips will be available from this web site.