Famous for its endless dark skies, huge forest, and almost complete lack of phone signal, Kielder is one of the few places in the North East where you can experience full, proper silence.
However, stumble across the right clearing later in the year and you may just hear a choir, as a musician has been commissioned to 'capture' the spirit of Kielder with a musical composition, which will be written throughout 2022.
Jenny Mahler, a classically trained pianist who grew up and lives in the Cotswolds but has familial connections to the North East, will be immersing herself in the landscape and culture of the area and working with local people for the composition.
A singer-songwriter and pianist, Jenny has worked internationally and has written songs featured on BBC Radio. She has performed as an instrumentalist and vocalist at the Sage Gateshead, among other venues.
But how do you capture the spirit of Kielder in music? Jenny has a few ideas of what to do, though the project is still in its early stages.
She said: "I'm on a bit of a mission to find out how to capture that spirit. First, I need to absolutely immerse myself in Kielder. I've already met some great people and I'm hoping to get a feeling of what it's like for both tourists and locals.
"I'm going to be creating a choir piece. I'm envisioning people's words and some aspect of its history being woven into the lyrics. I'm planning to set up a choir that meets somewhere in the heart of Kielder."
And she says she can't wait to get started. Jenny said: "It feels amazing. It feels really special.
"My Grandad worked in Kielder forest after the war. A lot of returning soldiers went there and it was good for my grandad. I think he had what we would now describe as PTSD and being outdoors and in the wide open space was really good for him. I hope I can find a little more of the history of the time he was there as part of the project."
Jenny's Grandad is not her only connection to the North East - her mum was born in Blyth and she still has family on the North East coast. She continued: I'm really pleased I have got a connection to the North East again. I studied at Newcastle University and I have still got family in Cullercoats. The rest of my family are in Denmark so it feels good to have a link to family up there. It’s also just beautiful."
It is hoped that the art project might raise awareness of Kielder, which may in turn lead to more visitors. Despite her work in Northumberland, Jenny lives in the Cotswolds and says that many people at home haven't heard of Kielder.
She continued: "I have got really bad eco-anxiety and music is the way I can do anything - so if I can connect people to nature through music, that's an amazing thing. It's important that the public know they have this resource available and that they can get out into nature."
Peter Sharpe, Kielder Art and Architecture curator, is excited to have Jenny on board for the project to showcase a part of Northumberland with a very specific identity.
He said: "Kielder is an unusual area because it's been constructed from nothing in a relatively short period of time. When Jenny's Grandad was here, the reservoir wouldn't have been there and it would have been very different.
"Inevitably, the communities here are different to the traditional Northumbrian village feel. You get a lot of people coming in to visit, but there are also more remote communities whose identity is partly to do with their remoteness."
Jenny's commission as Composer in Residence is part of the Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust programme funded by Arts Council England. Over the next year, a new contemporary viewpoint above Kielder village will be created, while Newcastle University architecture students will design and build a sensory shelter space within Calvert Kielder.
Kielder Art and Architecture was recently listed as one of the best sculpture trails in the UK (even though it's not technically a sculpture trail) and there are several sculptures and artworks around the reservoir.
