presence is a multi-channel music installation for a phantom chamber orchestra. The musicians are sixteen loudspeakers (each playing back a different instrumental part) dispersed freely throughout the installation area. I individually recorded members of The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra playing the raw material for the piece–a series of small melodic fragments and pitches inspired by bird-song. Once I had these snippets of melody I could recompose the piece to adapt to different environments. So far it has been exhibited in a large outdoor space (Hudson Square Music Festival), a small gallery environment(GAle GAtes et al), and most recently, a dedicated multi-channel sound gallery (Engine 27 in Tribeca). Each time the composition of the piece–from the number and arrangement of the speakers, to the minutiae of the musical decisions–is a direct response to the context in which it finds itself.