Naegleria Fowleri

violin and live electronics

10’

March 2023

written for Violetta Suvini

Naegleria fowleri, commonly referred to as the ‘brain-eating amoeba’, is a pathogenic microorganism that can cause fatal brain infection. Naegleria fowleri is typically found in bodies of warm freshwater, such as lakes, rivers, hot springs, and untreated swimming pools. Humans can become infected when water containing naegleria fowleri is inhaled through the nasal canal. Once inside the nasal canal, the amoeba is able to travel to the brain, where it destroys tissue. It takes between one and nine days for symptoms to appear after nasal exposure to naegleria fowleri. Early symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, altered mental state, coma, drooping eyelids, and blurred vision. Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. Once infected, survival rates are lower than 1% and death will usually occur within two weeks of when symptoms first start to appear.

Naegleria Fowleri explores the alteration of acoustic timbre with electronic means. In this work, the timbral content of the acoustic violin sound, and the sonic world of the electronic sound create both opposition and integration. The resultant sound encourages the audience to question the boundary of electronic and acoustic sound, the processed and the unprocessed, and the human and the machine.