William Brewster (1851-1919), was a renowned American amateur ornithologist. He gifted a lifetime of bird observations to Harvard. Brewster’s collection of diaries, journals, correspondence, and photographs are both a trove of valuable scientific data and a delightful account of his years exploring the woods, fields, rivers, and lakes of New England.
We will hear from two Harvard librarian/researchers from the Ernst Mayr Library, Museum of Comparative Zoology, who continue their work on the Brewster collection. And then, settle in for an evening of late nineteenth century bird observations up and down the Concord River, in Concord, Massachusetts.
This program has been organized by Dianne Ballon, a birder and sound artist from Portland.
We are seeking to audition and select 4 individuals to read from William Brewster’s journals at this event: one male, one female, and one backup for each.
The prerequisites for audition candidates are as follows:
- Must be comfortable reading out loud to a live audience.
- Must have an older, not “young-sounding” voice.
- Must be comfortable reading 10-15 minutes of text at a time.
- Must be available to be at the Wells Reserve on the evening of Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The description of the audition is as follows:
- The audition is by phone call only. No Zoom or FaceTime.
- During the audition, you will read to Dianne Ballon the excerpts provided.
- Please choose a quiet location and a smaller room for the phone call. Large empty rooms have too much echo.
- Ensure there is no background noise.
- Allow 45 minutes for the audition.
- Print or have the excerpts ready to read.
- Have water available.
- Remember to include your phone number when registering.
Auditions can be scheduled for the weeks of July 13th and 20th only.
They will be weekday evenings only, either from 6 to 6:45 pm, or 7 to 7:45 pm.
Please click on this link to schedule an audition: https://calendar.app.google/JMJ9Y31sHz9L73CZ9
Please click on the following links to download the excerpts from William Brewster’s journals:
https://www.yorkcountyaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Brewster-Excerpt-1-Fox-Sparrows.pdf
https://www.yorkcountyaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Brewster-Excerpt-2-Night-Sounds.pdf