This project features original music by Anna McMichael (violin) and Helen Svoboda (double bass, voice), responding to and shaped by the underwater sounds of the Antarctic Weddell Seal. Live sound design by Tilman Robinson using underwater field recordings of Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, kindly provided by the McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory. The final work is a graphic score work by Cat Hope inspired by the Weddell Seal. 

The Weddell seal is especially notable for its complex and diverse vocal behaviour. It produces sounds both above and below water, with around 50 distinct underwater call types recorded, including trills, whistles, chirps, grunts, knocks, and clicks—some at ultrasonic frequencies beyond human hearing.

The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is a seal found only in Antarctic waters, with a circumpolar distribution around the continent. It lives along the edges of sea ice attached to the shore. Adults typically measure 2.5–3.5 m in length and weigh 400–600 kg, making them among the largest seal species. This species is well studied because it occupies fast ice environments near the Antarctic continent, often close to research stations. 

These seals communicate through multiple pathways: sound can travel through water, air, and even ice. Individuals resting on ice can hear calls from seals underwater, especially near breathing holes. Vocalisations play a key role in social interactions, particularly between mothers and pups. Mothers use calls to locate their young over distance, while pups produce higher-pitched, urgent sounds when they need feeding.

Their calls vary widely in duration, from very short clicks (10–20 milliseconds) to trills lasting over a minute, and span frequencies from about 80 Hz to 24 kHz. Interestingly, Weddell seals often avoid overlapping their calls, suggesting a form of turn-taking in communication.

Weddell seals can dive for up to 73 minutes and reach depths of 600 m, though most dives are between 300–400 m. They are top predators in Antarctica but are also hunted by killer whales and leopard seals. During the Antarctic spring (September–November), they return to fast ice colonies to breed and give birth.

Although their numbers declined significantly during early Antarctic exploration due to hunting for food and oil, populations have recovered since commercial sealing ended in the 1980s. Today, Weddell seals are protected under the Antarctic Treaty and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS).

A note about Cat Hope’s Vibrissae

This piece is inspired by the sounds and sensitivities of Weddell seals, the southernmost dwelling mammals. 'Vibrissae' are seal whiskers - they sense vibrations in the water, enabling them to find their prey and listen to each other.  Weddell's seal calls can feature long, downward glissandi, high-pitched tones and clicks - not unlike the sounds produced by strings instruments, and quite like modular synthesis too. This work draws on these elements of inspiration: the performers listen to sounds of the seals before performance, to influence their reading of the graphic notation. The electronics from this piece were created in a similar way, created by the composer on the Vintage Buchla 200 Synthesiser at the EMS, Stockholm, Sweden. This work was created during a residency at the Visby International Composers Centre in Sweden in December 2025.

About Anna McMichael
Anna McMichael is violinist, previous festival director and artistic researcher with a national and international performance career over the last 30 years. Anna is Classical Convenor and Head of Strings at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University. She lived in Europe for 17 years, performing with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and London Sinfonietta and with ensembles including the ASKO/Schonberg Ensemble and Ensemble Modern. She has toured numerous major European festivals and given premieres by many leading international composers.

In Australia, Anna has performed regularly with Australian groups, including Australian Chamber Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Ensemble Offspring, Omega Ensemble, guest concertmaster of Auckland Philharmonia, member of Australian World Orchestra, Australian Haydn Ensemble and Sydney Chamber Opera. 

She was Co-artistic Director of the Tyalgum Music Festival between 2014 and 2019, when APRA/AMC awarded it prizes for regional excellence. Anna has a large solo, duo and ensemble discography on many international labels. 

Anna has recorded duo CDs for the Tall Poppies label and a solo violin and electronics cd for the Dutch label, Unsounds. Anna has appeared regularly at Mona Foma festival, Melbourne Metropolis Festival, Sydney’s Vivid, Adelaide and Sydney Festivals. 

About Helen Svoboda
Helen Svoboda is a Finnish/Australian award-winning double bassist, vocalist and composer. Her work explores the melodic potential of the double bass, weaving extended techniques, overtones and voice to explore themes of sonic unity within abstract song forms.

From 2018 to 2020, Helen lived and studied in the Netherlands and Germany, specialising in solo double bass composition. She recently undertook a three-month solo residency at the Helsinki International Artist Programme on Suomenlinna (FIN), supported by Creative Australia, and is currently finalising a PhD in music performance at Monash University. 

Helen is an active performer and collaborator locally and internationally. Her main projects include ‘Headwater’ (Melbourne Fringe Festival, supported by Musica Viva Australia - 2025 Green Room Award Nominee for Outstanding Sound Work); The Odd River (30 minute visual album about genetically modified vegetables);  ‘MEATSHELL’ (experimental duo with saxophonist Andrew Saragossi); ‘I Should Be Doing Something’ (duo with choreographer/dancer Jo Lloyd) and ‘Panghalina’ (experimental trio with drummers Maria Moles and Bonnie Stewart - album released on Room40). She has collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Mindy Meng Wang, Daniel Wilfred & David Wilfred, Kutcha Edwards, Cory Smythe (NY), Sebastian Gramss (GER), Selma Savolainen (FIN), Kari Ikonen (FIN), Paul Grabowsky and Sunny Kim (KOR/AUS). 

Her key accolades include: 2023-24 Musica Viva Australia FutureMaker; 2023 MOMENTUM Commissions (Australian Music Centre); 2020 Freedman Jazz Fellowship (winner); 2020/21 Australian Art Orchestra Pathfinder Associate Artist; 2026 Abbotsford Convent Studio Residency recipient. Helen’s work is produced by Michaela Coventry (Sage Arts).

About Tilman Robinson
Tilman Robinson is a composer, producer and sound designer. He creates dark ambient and maximalist electro-acoustic music drawing on a wide range of genres. Tilman’s diverse output focuses on dense sound, incorporating acousmatics and psychoacoustic principles. His music ranges from drone heavy ambient meditations, to pointillistic flurries of electronically altered acoustic sound, to rich immersive field recordings.

Tilman has released several albums and has worked extensively as a cross art-form collaborator for well over a decade. He is one of the most in-demand creative professionals in his field, having contributed scores and sound design to innumerable artworks, events, films and television.

Tilman has received major commissions from Australian Art Orchestra, Speak Percussion, Arts Centre Melbourne, Perth International Arts Festival, and APRA; accolades including nominations for numerous arts prizes; and has twice been a finalist for the Melbourne Prize for Music. He has performed a broad range of festivals and venues including Dark MOFO, MONA FOMA and The Substation in Australia; Ruhrtriennale, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Berlin Jazz Festival internationally.

Acknowledgements
Field recordings: kindly allowed with permission from Copyright 2017-2019, Paul A.Cziko, PhD. Underwater Audio Recordings of Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica recorded by the McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory.

This project is part of Anna McMichael’s Climate Futures Artist Fellowship at the State Library of Victoria, Australia. Thanks to Professor Steven Chown, Director, Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, Monash University, for introducing her to the sounds of the Weddell Seal.