Byron Wallen: Hurricane Bells

This year marks 21 since Hurricane Katrina caused an environmental disaster that had major social and political impacts. It is 20 years since Spike Lee released his moving four-part documentary ‘When the Levees Broke’, chronicling the devastation of New Orleans following Katrina and the catastrophic failure of the city’s levee system. 

This evening begins with a screening of Chapter 1 of ‘When the Levees Broke’, followed by a discussion with Dr Eleonora Sammartino from the University of Southampton Film Department. We finish with Byron Wallen’s extraordinary composition ‘Hurricane Bells’, performed live by a five-piece band comprising some of the UK best jazz musicians.  

Introduced by Byron, ‘Hurricane Bells’ is a piece of music, commissioned around a set of bells cast from the data extracted from Hurricane Katrina. Bells as a warning toll, bells as ritual and bells as memorial combine in a piece that remembers the impact on the communities around New Orleans.  

For more information, go to the Turner Sims website.