A year-long musical portrait created from the sounds, movement and changing environment of Sunderland is preparing to fall silent.
SonOrbitUs has been running continuously since October 2025, transforming sounds recorded around the city alongside live data into an evolving piece of music.
Now the project will come to an end with a free event at Culture House Sunderland on Saturday, October 17, when residents will be invited to help compose its final hours before it is switched off at 5pm.
Commissioned by Sunderland Music City and funded by Arts Council England, SonOrbitUs was created by Sunderland musicians and artists Peter Brewis, Ed Carter and Tim Shaw, with research and technical input from Becky Allen.
Rather than producing a fixed composition, the project has continually responded to the city around it, combining recordings made in Sunderland with real-time information about its environment and activity.
Its closing event, taking place in The Exchange on the first floor of Culture House, will begin with an improvisation workshop led by Faye McCallman from 11am to 1pm. Musicians of all abilities can take part, with instruments available to use.
Following a break, Peter Brewis will introduce a collective improvised performance running from 2pm until SonOrbitUs reaches its conclusion three hours later. People can join in with the music or simply watch and listen.
Peter said: “It’s been amazing to make a changing Sunderland audible over the course of a year. Everything has been in flux - the seasons, the tides, the people. For the last few hours we’d like people to actually come and play alongside SonOrbitUs.”
The project was created as part of Sunderland’s Year of Music and offers a rather different take on the idea of documenting a city – making music from Sunderland itself rather than simply staging music within it.
Frankie Francis, Sunderland Music City Music Officer, said: “SonOrbitUs has been an extraordinary experiment in listening to our city. For an entire year, Sunderland has effectively been composing through its people, its weather, its movement and its everyday sounds.
“The closing event is an opportunity to come together, hear the project in its final form and celebrate everyone who has contributed to making this remarkable piece of work.”
The finale is free, with advance booking encouraged, although people can also turn up on the day if capacity allows.