Cheryl E. Leonard
@cheryleleonard.bsky.social
composer, performer, instrument-builder, field recordist
Excited that my new Arctic album, "near the bear" is featured in Bandcamp's Best Field Recordings this month. Thank you Matthew Blackwell.
"...a deep interrogation of our place in the world, put into high relief against the brilliant whites and blues of the High Arctic."
"...a deep interrogation of our place in the world, put into high relief against the brilliant whites and blues of the High Arctic."
The Best Field Recordings on Bandcamp, October 2025
The best sounds captured outside the studio and released in the last month.
daily.bandcamp.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Excited that my new Arctic album, "near the bear" is featured in Bandcamp's Best Field Recordings this month. Thank you Matthew Blackwell.
"...a deep interrogation of our place in the world, put into high relief against the brilliant whites and blues of the High Arctic."
"...a deep interrogation of our place in the world, put into high relief against the brilliant whites and blues of the High Arctic."
A big thank you to Tobias Fischer for the opportunity to respond to such thoughtful questions on listening, sound, and music! 15questions.net/interview/ch...
October 3, 2025 at 12:02 AM
A big thank you to Tobias Fischer for the opportunity to respond to such thoughtful questions on listening, sound, and music! 15questions.net/interview/ch...
"near the bear," is out today! From walrus encounters at 79° N to watching the ocean freeze at -35° C, the album celebrates the High Arctic. Sounds played on natural and human-made objects intertwine with field recordings and site-specific improvisations in five works about Svalbard & Greenland.
September 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
"near the bear," is out today! From walrus encounters at 79° N to watching the ocean freeze at -35° C, the album celebrates the High Arctic. Sounds played on natural and human-made objects intertwine with field recordings and site-specific improvisations in five works about Svalbard & Greenland.
My new Arctic album is now available for preorder:
f-o-m.bandcamp.com/album/near-t...! Five compositions inspired by the unique wildlife, environments, and human histories of Svalbard and Greenland. Available from forms of minutiae as a limited-edition CD+booklet or digital download+PDF booklet.
f-o-m.bandcamp.com/album/near-t...! Five compositions inspired by the unique wildlife, environments, and human histories of Svalbard and Greenland. Available from forms of minutiae as a limited-edition CD+booklet or digital download+PDF booklet.
September 19, 2025 at 11:16 PM
My new Arctic album is now available for preorder:
f-o-m.bandcamp.com/album/near-t...! Five compositions inspired by the unique wildlife, environments, and human histories of Svalbard and Greenland. Available from forms of minutiae as a limited-edition CD+booklet or digital download+PDF booklet.
f-o-m.bandcamp.com/album/near-t...! Five compositions inspired by the unique wildlife, environments, and human histories of Svalbard and Greenland. Available from forms of minutiae as a limited-edition CD+booklet or digital download+PDF booklet.
Things I played at the UB radio salon on Sunday
August 28, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Things I played at the UB radio salon on Sunday
Come on over to the Sunnyvale Public Library this Saturday afternoon for sounds, stories, and instruments from my eco-musical adventures. It’s free! sunnyvale.libcal.com/event/147215...
Listening with the Wild: Eco-Composer Cheryl Leonard
Join us for a sonic journey with composer Cheryl E. Leonard, who crafts immersive soundscapes using field recordings and musical instruments made from shells, bones, rocks,...
sunnyvale.libcal.com
August 2, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Come on over to the Sunnyvale Public Library this Saturday afternoon for sounds, stories, and instruments from my eco-musical adventures. It’s free! sunnyvale.libcal.com/event/147215...
Setup for my performances this Sunday at Headlands Center for the Arts as part of their Summer Open House. I’ll be in the Gym doing a sound installation and two live sets!
July 19, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Setup for my performances this Sunday at Headlands Center for the Arts as part of their Summer Open House. I’ll be in the Gym doing a sound installation and two live sets!
Instruments for my set earlier today at the San Francisco Main Library. Thanks to all who came out to listen!
July 13, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Instruments for my set earlier today at the San Francisco Main Library. Thanks to all who came out to listen!
My table at the end of last night’s Sonic Cartography improv gig in Berkeley. Good fun!
July 12, 2025 at 3:24 PM
My table at the end of last night’s Sonic Cartography improv gig in Berkeley. Good fun!
Pleased to announce that Euphotic’s latest album (which I played on and mixed) is out today on Confront Recordings: confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/clastic
June 30, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Pleased to announce that Euphotic’s latest album (which I played on and mixed) is out today on Confront Recordings: confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/clastic
Recording locations from last weekend’s Nature Sounds Society Workshop: Sierra Valley, Carmen Valley, and Yuba Pass. Early, chilly, good times!
June 24, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Recording locations from last weekend’s Nature Sounds Society Workshop: Sierra Valley, Carmen Valley, and Yuba Pass. Early, chilly, good times!
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
I spoke with the brilliant @jonathan-watts.bsky.social about the experience of writing "with" rivers; about freshwater and life and power—and about hope as a discipline.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Rob Macfarlane : ‘Sometimes I felt as if the river was writing me’
The writer and poet on reimagining rivers as living beings, the ecological crisis near and far and why copyright laws should protect nature
www.theguardian.com
May 17, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I spoke with the brilliant @jonathan-watts.bsky.social about the experience of writing "with" rivers; about freshwater and life and power—and about hope as a discipline.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Recording at Rawhiti Cave (near Takata, New Zealand) two days ago: drippy!
May 9, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Recording at Rawhiti Cave (near Takata, New Zealand) two days ago: drippy!
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
BREAKING: Several Bay Area arts nonprofits received emails Friday afternoon that their grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have been canceled — including SCRAP, the San Francisco creative reuse center; the Oakland Theater Project; and The Lab.
NEA Grants Canceled to Bay Area Arts Nonprofits | KQED
The National Endowment for the Humanities suddenly canceled grants to nonprofits on Friday afternoon.
www.kqed.org
May 3, 2025 at 2:12 AM
BREAKING: Several Bay Area arts nonprofits received emails Friday afternoon that their grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have been canceled — including SCRAP, the San Francisco creative reuse center; the Oakland Theater Project; and The Lab.
Excited that music, natural-object instruments, and the graphic score from my composition "Littoral" are included in Marin MOCA's latest exhibition, "Future Flows." www.marinmoca.org/see-and-expe...
April 21, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Excited that music, natural-object instruments, and the graphic score from my composition "Littoral" are included in Marin MOCA's latest exhibition, "Future Flows." www.marinmoca.org/see-and-expe...
Last night’s musical instruments for a Thomas Carnacki set at the Peacock Lounge
April 12, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Last night’s musical instruments for a Thomas Carnacki set at the Peacock Lounge
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
in the latter days
of a corrupt world
cherry blossoms
Issa
of a corrupt world
cherry blossoms
Issa
April 7, 2025 at 2:14 PM
in the latter days
of a corrupt world
cherry blossoms
Issa
of a corrupt world
cherry blossoms
Issa
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
To the world:
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
April 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
To the world:
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
“It seems that nature has devised quantum technology before us…”
We’ve been puzzling at the mysteries of avian migration for millennia—the answers now emerging about how migrating birds navigate thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy are…mind-blowing. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
We’ve been puzzling at the mysteries of avian migration for millennia—the answers now emerging about how migrating birds navigate thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy are…mind-blowing. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
‘They have no one to follow’: how migrating birds use quantum mechanics to navigate
Evidence is mounting to explain how birds use the Earth’s magnetic field to help fly thousands of miles with unerring accuracy – a discovery that may help advance quantum technology
www.theguardian.com
March 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
“It seems that nature has devised quantum technology before us…”
We’ve been puzzling at the mysteries of avian migration for millennia—the answers now emerging about how migrating birds navigate thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy are…mind-blowing. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
We’ve been puzzling at the mysteries of avian migration for millennia—the answers now emerging about how migrating birds navigate thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy are…mind-blowing. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Rehearsing for my concert tomorrow night at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center. I’m performing a set of pieces about clinate change in the polar regions and California. events.stanford.edu/events/forms...
March 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Rehearsing for my concert tomorrow night at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center. I’m performing a set of pieces about clinate change in the polar regions and California. events.stanford.edu/events/forms...
Tidal flow, Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore
March 17, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Tidal flow, Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore
Weaned elephant seal pups this morning out at Point Reyes National Seashore
March 12, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Weaned elephant seal pups this morning out at Point Reyes National Seashore
Reposted by Cheryl E. Leonard
The mood was defiant at many of the rallies, where chants of “Scientists will not be silenced”, “Facts over fear” and “What do we want? Peer review! When do we want it? Now!” were heard.
https://go.nature.com/3F8T6FX
https://go.nature.com/3F8T6FX
‘Scientists will not be silenced’: thousands protest Trump research cuts
Researchers at Stand Up for Science rallies voice defiance against the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
go.nature.com
March 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The mood was defiant at many of the rallies, where chants of “Scientists will not be silenced”, “Facts over fear” and “What do we want? Peer review! When do we want it? Now!” were heard.
https://go.nature.com/3F8T6FX
https://go.nature.com/3F8T6FX
Gnarly root beauty - Strawberry Gap Trail, North Carolina
March 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Gnarly root beauty - Strawberry Gap Trail, North Carolina