麻豆约拍

Adam Walton visits the Photonics Academy at Bangor University to meet students who have been developing unique new musical instruments that use light to generate sound.

Throughout the Summer, students attended the Photonics Academy, run by Dr Ray Davies, and devised several new ways of using lasers and LEDs to produce musical sounds. It was an educational project inspired by "light", the theme of this year's North Wales International Music Festival. It also ties in with 2015 being the International Year of Light.

The resulting new instruments including a "fibre optic flute" and an "LDR clarinet", were demonstrated in front of an audience of schoolchildren at St Asaph Cathedral recently in a special event called "The Power of Light" which also showcased poetry and music inspired by light.

The Photonics Academy encourages students to use their imagination to devise entirely new ways of harnessing light, and puts the emphasis on practical hands-on sessions.