The Spire - Owen Bowie

The idea for this piece came from an early morning walk along William Street.

As I passed The Spire which sits on the corner of Sydenham & William (82 Sydenham St.) its history felt palpable. The church itself is over 160 years old, and a few other houses along William St. have timestamps from the late 1800s on display for passerby’s like myself. Simply put, the street oozes of the past. The old brick and stone houses have probably been restored since their initial construction, and I congratulate the owners for taking such good care of these present-day relics.

My goal with this piece was to create an auditory time-portal which would compliment the visuals of this street in Kingston.

The piece is meant to be one of contrasts. Present vs. past. Warm vs. cold. Within vs. without. Some of these juxtapositions are achieved literally, while others are more metaphorical (for example, the voices of the specters). The middle section, as the specters swirl about and envelope the listener, is the climax of the piece.