Volcano Listening Project to Rock the Stage Jan 29th
From Sense of Place:
By Sarah Fox
Hood River, Ore., Jan 9, 2026 — A special Sense of Place event welcomes The Volcano Listening Project to the stage at Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, on January 29. In two back-to-back shows, audiences will hear from an ensemble of internationally recognized musicians.
Led by University of Oregon professor/violinist Leif Karlstrom and featuring: Todd Sickafoose, Idit Shner, Adam Roskiewicz, and Jonny Rodgers. Musicians will accompany sonified volcanology and Leif Karlstrom will share the science behind volcanoes and the science behind it.
The Inspiration
Volcanic eruptions can perturb global climate, build mountains, and reshape human civilizations. They can be deadly, but the deep roots of volcanoes also provide a foundry for critical minerals that enable modern society. In these ways and others, volcanoes have inspired scientists and artists alike for thousands of years. The Volcano Listening Project explores connections between scientific research and artistic perspectives of volcanoes, developing tools to represent data through sound that draw equally from data science, volcanology, and new music.
Data Sonification
Data sonification is a field that involves transforming complex data into sound. Sonification provides a powerful way to understand the complex signals emerging from new volcano monitoring equipment. Sonification of volcanic data provides another way of perceiving and interacting with this explosive science in a way that lends itself well to identifying patterns, and creating powerfully emotional and compelling music for outreach and education.
About the Performers:
Leif Karlstrom came from a family of professional musicians and earth scientists, and has built a career in both domains. As a violinist he toured nationally and internationally with the bluegrass band Front Country and Small Town Therapy. As a scientist he is an associate professor at the University of Oregon, where he runs a research group that studies volcanic processes from current activity at Kilauea volcano to climate-altering Large Igneous Province events. He started the Volcano Listening Project in 2023.
Todd Sickafoose is a composer, producer, and bassist widely known for his work with Ani DeFranco (since 2004) as well as in jazz ensembles with the likes of Adam Levy, Jenny Scheinman, Nels Cline, and Allison Miller, as well as his own group. His work orchestrating and producing music for the Broadway musical Hades Town earned him a Grammy award for Best Musical Theater album and a Tony award for Best Orchestration.
Idit Shner is a professor of saxophone and jazz studies at the University of Oregon, with an active performing and recording career across genres that includes commissioned premieres of new music nationally and internationally. She leads her jazz quartet in the Pacific Northwest and is an award-winning teacher.
Jonny Rodgers is a musician and composer known for his work as Cinder Talk and numerous film scores. He has received accolades from The NY Times for developing and performing a unique tuned glass orchestra instrument.
Adam Roszkiewicz is a musician and composer known for his guitar and mandolin work with the Modern Mandolin Quartet (with whom he was nominated for a Best Chamber Music Performance Grammy Award), the Ger Mandolin Orchestra, Front Country, and Small Town Therapy.
Event Details:
Volcano Listening Project
When:
Thursday, January 29th, at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Check-in begins one hour before showtime. Seating opens 30 minutes before showtime.
(If the event is sold out, unclaimed seats will be released to the waitlist 15 minutes before show start time.)
Where: Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave., Hood River, OR 97031
Tickets: Available online at senseofplacegorge.org. Advanced purchase is encouraged.
About Sense of Place:
Sense of Place is a program of Mt. Adams Institute, a Gorge-based nonprofit that strengthens the connection between people and the natural world through education, service, career development, and research. For more information on the series and Season 16, visit senseofplacegorge.org or follow us on Instagram @senseofplacegorge. Subscribe to the Sense of Place Newsletter for event updates and behind-the-scenes stories.
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