Echoes from disused water tower become music for 'magical' performance

High school students in Cobar accompanied a professional string quartet during their performance in a disused water tank.

The students used the natural sounds of sticks, stones and branches to bring the Sound Chapel structure to life.

Some students said the experience inspired them to keep playing music.

Students in outback NSW have woven the echoes of a disused water tower into a unique piece of music.

The structure, known as the Cobar Sound Chapel, is an immersive sound experience.

"When you just walk, you can hear the echo, and it sounds really cool," Year 7 student Indy Webster said.

The music was created during a workshop in Cobar with composer and Sydney Conservatorium lecturer Jim Coyle.

"The students came up with some really excellent ideas, so realising that as a musical score was relatively straightforward," he said.

But Dr Coyle said incorporating a structure into a composition was a first for him as well.

"I tend to use conventional instruments in conventional ways, so this is a whole new area, a breakout, and that's what's particularly exciting about it," he said.

Dr Coyle said music was a universal language.

The Sound Chapel is a permanent sound installation artwork where students from Cobar High recently gathered to perform with the Noise String Quartet and a didgeridoo.

They were encouraged to use the environment around them, including sticks, stones and branches, to create sound.

Music teacher Laura Andrew said she was impressed by the ideas the students came up with.

"You can make art, regardless of your age, and you can still be in school and make real-world creative pieces," she said.

"It was such an amazing experience, just to step back and observe how students came up with different sounds.

"They're celebrating their town, they're celebrating what's here."

Wiradjuri man and former Cobar High School student Xander Jeffery played the didgeridoo during the performance.

He said the sound chapel magnified the acoustic presence of his instrument.

"It creates a huge amount of echo," he said.

Mr Jeffery said playing the didgeridoo has helped him reconnect with his culture.

"It's sacred. It's a part of me now," he said.

The Sound Chapel is the work of architect Glenn Murcutt and the music of composer Georges Lentz.

It was created in 2022, although the silver tank itself is 125 years old.

"To see it generating new art out of the Sound Chapel is just so wonderful," Mr Lentz said.

"Having local students and local people invested in this is so important.

Some audience members travelled hundreds of kilometres to see the students' performance.

Architect Bernie Jovaras and his wife Anne travelled from Victoria to attend and were impressed with what they saw and heard.

"It was really, really sharp and crisp, very little reverberation, and that's due to some clever design elements with the chamber," Mr Jovaras said.

"I thought the sound was absolutely fantastic."

Some of the students left motivated to continue playing music.

"It feels so magical, especially when the music starts to play," Year 9 student Marvelyn Mabhava said.