Wild Notes Foundation

05/17/2026

Wild Notes just leveled up. 🎙️🌿

I recently acquired a Song Meter Micro 2 professional field recorder, and I'm designing my first formal acoustic ecology research protocol:

📍 Day 1: Record the natural soundscape baseline
🎻 Day 2: Perform and record live cello in the same space
📍 Day 3: Record the soundscape again—and measure what changed

The question I want to answer: does the presence of live cello create any meaningful acoustic impact on a natural soundscape? Drawing on acoustic niche theory, I want to know whether intentional human sound displaces, disrupts, or coexists with the biophony already present in these spaces.

We've always believed that what we do in these parks matters. Now I want the data to tell us exactly how—and whether.

Wild Notes is officially entering research territory.

(I'm also learning R to be able to analyze the data once I begin collecting it. It's going fine. Everything is fine. 🧘‍♀️)

[Picture: Galveston, TX, taken by me]

--Dr. Mandy Guilfoyle

05/15/2026

What does a swamp hear when the cello plays? 🌿🎻

​At the Wild Notes Foundation, our mission goes deeper than just a beautiful melody. We practice Acoustic Stewardship.

​Before we set up a music stand in any ecosystem—especially a vibrant, sensitive bayou—we do our homework. We research the acoustic niche of the local residents to ensure our music is a respectful guest, not a disruption.

​Here is how we protect the Soundscape of a Texas Bayou:

​🐊 Speaking the Language of the Marsh: Large reptiles, like the American Alligator, are low-frequency experts. The deep, resonant tones of a cello vibrate in a sonic basement that mirrors the primal hum of the wetlands.

​🐊 Curious Listeners: Don't be surprised if you see a gator drifting closer during a set! Because the cello mimics those deep, low frequencies, they often cruise over just to see who is talking in their vibrational language. It’s a peaceful, fascinating moment of cross-species curiosity—perfectly safe, and a reminder that we are all connected by sound.

​🐊 The "No-Vibration" Rule: When playing on boardwalks, we use specialized rubber dampeners (rockstops). This prevents physical vibrations from pulsing through the wood and into the water. We want our music to float through the air, not shake the house of the turtles and fish living below.

​🐊 Acoustic Leave No Trace: Just as hikers pack out their trash, we pack out our noise. We choose repertoires that harmonize with the natural environment rather than drowning it out.

​We are currently scouting some incredible "swamp stages" for our upcoming season. Stay tuned as we prepare to bring interpretive classical music to the heart of the wetlands! 🐊✨

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05/09/2026

Please consider donating today! Every dollar helps fund our mission. We are a 501(c)(3), and we have some big goals.

1. Making Wild Notes a full-time nonprofit organization—weekly programming, monthly performances all over, and more time spent connecting people to the natural world with classical music.

2. Hiring staff. Right now, I am the one who does the music making in addition to all of the nonprofit work. A team means more time can be spent focusing on the mission, not to mention providing jobs for others who believe in what we do.

3. Inviting other musicians to perform in concerts. With our current budget, I'm not even getting paid to perform, so hiring other professional classical musicians is (for now) out of the question—but that was never meant to be long term. Everyone has a voice that should be heard, that should be communicated to with nature, and people need to hear it.

4. Going national. Performing across the country has always been a goal since the very beginning. I live in Texas, so the great parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite are out of reach at our current fundraising stage—but just imagine: a string quartet at the Grand Canyon. Solo oboe in the redwood forests. An opera singer in the bayou. There is so much beauty begging to be spread through our mission.

5. And finally, the largest goal we have: one day, a Wild Notes nature center. Acres and acres of protected land. A sound garden for kids. Acoustic ecology education centers for families and schools. Regular performances from musicians from all over the world on our protected land. A coffee shop with birdsong, not background music, so people can find a third place to exist that makes them feel at peace. I see this vision so clearly, but I am far away from it—for now.

If you believe in the power of music and our inherent connection to the natural world, please consider giving today. Every dollar helps our mission. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Visit ✨️ www.wildnotes.org/donate ✨️ to give today and to learn more about what we do.

05/07/2026

Hello, everyone! We were having issues with Crowded Banking, so while we switch everything over to a new bank, we have a brand new donation link! Thankful for Zeffy for coming in handy. :) Check it out!

🌟 Join us in bringing free classical music to parks and wild places! 🌟At Wild Notes Foundation, we know that change starts with people like you. Every act of kindness, every dollar, and every moment of your time brings us closer to achieving our mission. Together, we can create a brighter, mor...

04/25/2026

Thank you so much for the kind words! We had a wonderful time and we're so thankful for the support from Galveston Island State Park and the birding community as a whole. 🐦😊🎻

04/25/2026

🌿 Wild Notes exists because you show up.

Every time you like a post, share a concert, whisper to a friend that something special is happening in the parks—you are part of this. You are part of the sound.

Wild Notes brings free interpretive soundscape programming into Texas state parks—solo cello woven into living ecosystems, offered at no cost to attendees, because nature's music belongs to everyone.

If this work has moved you, we'd be honored if you'd help us keep it going.

💚 Donate at wildnotes.org/donate

Every gift—of any size—keeps the cello in the trees.

🎻 Thank you for being here. Truly.

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day! 🌍

Wild Notes was born from a simple belief: that when people truly listen to the natural world, something shifts. The distance between human and nature closes a little. Care follows attention.

That's why every concert, every soundwalk, every interpretive program we offer is free—because connection to the Earth shouldn't have a price tag.

On this Earth Day, we're grateful for every park, every trail, every patch of sky that has held our music. And we're grateful for every person who has stopped, sat down, and listened.

The Earth is speaking. We're just helping you tune in. 🎶🌿

Learn more about our programming at wildnotes.org

04/22/2026

🎻🐦🌿🫶

04/18/2026

Last night's Eskimo Curlew Soundscape Memorial at Galveston Island State Park was something we won't soon forget.

About ten people gathered on the observation deck above the bay as the sun went down—binoculars around their necks, ears open, feet on wooden boards above one of the most alive soundscapes on the Texas coast. Laughing gulls. Black-bellied whistling ducks. Pelicans. Herons and egrets moving through the marsh grass. The wind doing what wind does over open water.

And then, cello.

The Eskimo Curlew once migrated through this coastline in flocks so vast they darkened the sky. The last confirmed sighting was 1963. Last night, we offered music into the landscape in its memory—a small act of witness for a bird the world let go too quietly.

This is what Wild Notes does. We don't perform at nature. We listen with it, and we invite others to do the same.

Enormous gratitude to interpretive ranger Regina and the whole team at Galveston Island State Park for their partnership and vision. More programming at GISP is already in the works. 🪶

If you'd like to bring Wild Notes to your park, preserve, or nature center—we'd love to hear from you.

🌿 wildnotes.org