WHY BIRDS SING   BOOK TOUR:
(subject to change)

 

 

WHY BIRDS SING is now published in Italian and Spanish as well.

Soon to appear in Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, and German

 



UPCOMING EVENTS:

 

 

2007

 

April               The 80 minute documentary WHY BIRDS SING airs on BBC4

 

Feb. 27th         Show w/ British electronic musician Scanner at Tonic, NYC, 8 pm

 

Mar. 15th        Nature Institute, Ghent, NY

 

Mar. 22nd        Chappaqua Public Library, NY

 

Mar. 28th        Hudson Valley Audubon Society, Bronxville Public Library, NY

 

May 7th           Great South Bay Audubon Society Dinner, Bay Shore, NY

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

 

You can read a portion of the book concerning nightingales on the webzine www.terrain.org here:

 

http://www.terrain.org/columns/16/bullhill.htm

 

 

An interview on the page with David Rothenberg from

the American Music Center:

 

http://newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=4206

 

 

An interview with David Rothenberg in the New York Times

Science Section:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/20CONV.html

 

 

 

ARCHIVED AUDIO INTERVIEWS ON THE WEB:

John Schaefer interviews David Rothenberg (and the Guarneri String Quartet!) on WNYCÕs program Soundcheck:

 

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/04052005

 

 

David Rothenberg live on the Diane Rehm Show, May 11, 2005:

 

http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/05/05/11.php

 

 

50 minute interview with David Rothenberg on Wisconsin Public Radio

show ÒHere on EarthÓ with Jean Feraca, May 22, 2005

 

http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_050522k.cfm

 

 

David Rothenberg on the KALX radio show Berkeley Groks:

 

http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?%20collection=groks&collectionid=groks168

 

 

David Rothenberg on ÒTo the Best of Our Knowledge,Ó May 29, 2005

 

http://wpr.org/book/050529b.html

 

 

David Rothenberg on ÒAnimals Aloud,Ó XM Satellite Radio,

 

http://www.animalsaloud.net/pages/podcasts.htm#3

 

 

 

 

PAST EVENTS:

 

2005

 

April 10  Worlds End Bookstore, Beacon, NY, 3-5 pm

 

April 16  New York University, NY,

 

The New York Institute of the Humanities and New York City Audubon present ÒWhatÕs Up When Birds Sing?Ó with: David Rothenberg, Lang Elliot, Don Kroodsma, Ofer Tchernichovski, Michael Pestel, Alan Vardy, Breyten Breytenbach, Frederic Vencl, Eric Salzman, and Pamela Z

 

April 20  concert, Salisbury State University, Salisbury, MD, 8 pm

 

April 23-24  Pittsburgh, Earth Day Festival, The National Aviary

                      with Michael Pestel, www.aviary.org

 

April 28-30   Conference on Walking at University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

with David Abram, Jack Turner, www.walkinginplace.org

 

May 1  Entertaining Science at Cornelia St. CafŽ, New York, NY, 6 pm

with Partha Mitra and Leon Gruenbaum

 

May 3  CodyÕs Books, Berkeley, CA, 7:30 pm

 

May 5  Capitola Book CafŽ, near Santa Cruz, CA, 7:30 pm

 

May 6  Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA, 7 pm

 

May 7  Point Reyes Books, Pt. Reyes, CA, 4 pm

 

May 11  Washington, DC, live on the Diane Rehm show, WAMU    11am

 

May 12  University of Connecticut Coop, Storrs, CT, 6 pm

 

May 15  Merritt Bookstore, Cold Spring, NY, 2 pm

 

May 21  Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook, NY, 4 pm 

 

June 3   Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ   8 pm  

 

June 5             Nature Center, Darien, CT, 3 pm

in association with Barrett Bookstore

 

June 9, 11       Religion and Nature Conference, Bard College

 

June 11           WorldÕs End Books, Beacon, NY  ENCORE EVENT!,   5-7 pm

 

June 17           Ariel Books, New Paltz, NY, with Dan Koeppel,

                        author of ÒSee Every Bird on EarthÓ, 7 pm

 

June 18           Hudson River Clearwater Festival, at Merritt Books stand, 4 pm

 

June 25           Colony CafŽ, Woodstock, NY, 7:30 pm

 

Aug. 4-6         MŒren Biennial, Sognefjord, Norway

 

Sep. 19           Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY

                        Panel discussion with dancer Jennifer Monson

 

Sep. 22           Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

                        concert with Michael Pestel

 

Sep. 25           Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art

                        Peekskill, NY, 5 pm

 

Oct. 6              Westport Library, Westport, CT, 7:30 pm

 

Oct. 23            Putnam County Audubon Center

                        Taconic Outdoor Center, Fahnestock State Park, NY

 

Nov. 2                        SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY

 

Nov. 13          92nd St. Y, New York, NY, www.92Y.org

 

Nov. 20          The Spitz, London, concert with Rinne Radio

 

Nov. 22          Oxford Brookes University, Social Sculpture Department

 

Nov. 24          concert, Dartington Hall, Dartington, England

 

Nov. 26          Peak Literature Festival, Darbyshire, with Colin Tudge.

 

Nov. 28          Royal Institution, London, England

                        w/Steven Mithen, David Toop, and Evan Parker

 

Nov. 29          Borders Books, Norwich, England

 

Dec. 11th       Ear to the Earth Festival, w/Steven Feld and Miya Masaoka

                        New York University, New York, NY

 

 

2006

 

Jan. 16-22       Edges of the Mind Conference, Rome, Italy      

                        with Rebecca Goldstein, Mark Hauser, and Steven Pinker

 

Feb. 20th        Cornelia St. CafŽ, New York, NY

 

Feb. 24th        The New York Times Travel Expo, Javits Center, NY

 

Mar. 8                        NY City Audubon, New York, NY

 

Apr. 28-29      Newburyport Literary Festival, Newburyport, MA

 

May 26th         Insect Arts Pestival, London, England, www.pestival.org

 

June 21-23     ideaCity, Toronto, Canada

 

Sep. 17th         concert, Glynwood Center, Cold Spring

 

Oct. 14th          concert, Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon NY

 

Oct. 15th          concert w/John Wieczorek, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY 

 

 

 

 

QUOTES:

 

 

"David Rothenberg is one of the rare musicians who is devoted to exploring the voices of the natural world. I would hope this book might encourage others to follow suit."

 

--Paul Winter, founder of the Winter Consort

 

 

"Why Birds Sing is a witty, insightful, intrepid, and delightful meditation on the limits of science and reason to comprehend not only birdsong but all of nature's mysteries."

 

--John Horgan, author of The End of Science and Rational Mysticism

 

 

"This book is exuberant! Exuberantly intellectual, exuberantly alive. And when you are finished with it the world will seem more alive as well, which is an awful lot for one book to accomplish."

 

--Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home

 

 

ÒA Best Science Book of 2005Ó

 

--Library Journal

 

 

"Measured in new ideas and speculations per pound, this book leads the pack."

 

--Birding Magazine

 

 

ÒImpressive and stimulating: an enticing explorationÉÓ

 

--Kirkus Reviews

 

 

"Rothenberg delves heartily into the lovely and strange structures of bird songs, and finds enough syllables, rhythms and syncopations to fill a jazz encyclopedia."

 

--Publishers Weekly

 

 

ÒWhy Birds Sing transforms one of those taken-for-granted things into let's-think-about-it-again stuff.Ó

 

--The New York Times

 

 

"Rothenberg stalks the mystery brilliantly, but in the end it eludes him.  Perhaps, he suggests, that like us, birds sing for joy, simply because they can."

 

--Los Angeles Times

 

 

ÒAn engaging introduction to song.Ó

 

--Tim Birkheard, Times Literary Supplement, London


 

ÒA remarkable book full of information and insight.Ó

 

--Parabola

 

 

"There's plenty of science in this lyrical book, along with an open sense of wonder."

 

--Bostonia

 

 

ÒA wonderful book.Ó

 

--Conde Nast Traveler

 

 

ÒA mind-expanding studyÓ

 

--The Dail Mail

 

 

ÒThe authorÕs infectious enthusiasm extends a winningly simple invitation: to listen, and learnÓ

 

--Lawrence Norfolk, The Sunday Telegraph

 

 

ÒAn intimate look at the most lovely of natural phenomena, with surprising insights about the origin of music."

 

--Bird Times

 

 

ÒWhat makes this bookÉ truly beautiful is its open-endedness, itsÉ transcendental joy at listening to nature's music.Ó

 

--The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

 

ÒRothenberg tackles his question with delight.  Ultimately, he is most concerned with wonderÉÓ

 

--Anthony Doerr, Boston Globe

 

 

ÒYou will never hear birds the same way again.Ó

 

--Claudia Marshall, WFUV FM

 

 

"With a musician's ear and a poet's heart, he seeks to describe, more than decode, the nearly boundless richness of birdsong's beauty."

 

--Sy Montgomery, Discover

 

 

ÒHis trained mind loves the clarity and order that science seeks, but Rothenberg also delights in the chaotic and the inexplicable.  He is a science/art amphibian.Ó

 

--Simon Barnes, New Scientist

 

 

ÒA timely book, and likely to be a popular one.Ó

 

--Andrew Motion, The Guardian

 

 

"An exuberant book, rich with a love for bird songs and full of the mystery they evoke in the human spirit."

 

--Orion

 

 

ÒExplores all points of view in a manner original and passionate.Ó

 

--Panorama, [Italy]

 

 

 ÒRothenberg is a participant in the passerine orchestra, not just an observer.  Benny Goodman, eat your heart out!Ó

 

--E Magazine

 

 

ÒNever before have I read anything, fiction or non-fiction, that so elegantly unites science and art to delve deeper into the mystery of life.Ó

 

--The Evening Sun

 

 

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer.

It sings because it has a song."

 

--A Fortune Cookie