Old Survivor is the name of a tree in Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, in Oakland, California. The tree is about 470 years old, and it's the last remaining old growth redwood in the Oakland Hills. The area was logged heavily from 1845-1860, then again from 1906 until 1916, when the park was purchased by Oakland to preserve the remaining redwoods.

​

This piece is written from the perspective of Old Survivor. It begins with  growth and reaching up, until its neighbors are logged. Then the forest begins growing back, somber and reflective but hopeful, until there's logging again, and growing back again. I think this piece is about how grief or loss or trauma can change a person, or a community.  

​

For a full story walkthrough of the piece, click here. 

​

Old Survivor was developed in collaboration with Jason Wells.

​

Solo version premiered by Jason Wells, Minneapolis,  MN, November 6, 2021.  Recorded and mixed by Eric Xu Romani.

​

Chamber ensemble version premiered by 10th Wave Chamber Collective, livestreamed on YouTube, June 25, 2021.