Wild Sounds of Wales: Ecology as Co-Composer and a New Model for Inclusive Immersive Learning Design: Owain Llwyd
This paper presents Wild Sounds of Wales: Life in the Trees (WSoW) as a case study in learner-centred XR design, one in which a dementia care home became the primary design context.
WSoW is a new concert orchestral score, composed by Owain Llwyd for the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, believed to be the world’s first commissioned specifically for VR360 and spatial audio. Its compositional methodology begins with ecological data: field recordings of blackbirds, chiffchaffs, woodpeckers and buzzards captured at Dinefwr National Nature Reserve underwent spectral analysis, translating birdsong into orchestral motifs and the contours of ancient oaks into harmonic material. During the VR experience, wildlife soundscapes and orchestral score sit side by side in spatial audio, placing the listener simultaneously inside the orchestra and the woodland. Dinefwr, in this sense, is the co-composer.
The primary audience for the pilot was people living with dementia at Bryn Seiont Newydd Care Home, Caernarfon. This design context produced three concrete realities that shaped the entire accessible format: sundowning (sessions timed around cognitive windows); headset reluctance (carers introduced the technology gradually, with physical presence throughout); and non-verbal feedback (observational data from carers sits alongside resident interviews as core pilot evidence). WSoW adopted Universal Design as its commissioning principle from the outset building multiple parallel formats including HMD VR with 10.2 surround, audio-described versions in Welsh and English, and a surround sound experience requiring no headset.
The result is a transferable model. In partnership with VERE Experiences, the co-design methodology is now entering a formal research phase, supported by Arts Council of Wales, Public Health Wales, Bangor University, National Trust Cymru, Cadw, and National Landscapes Association, establishing evaluation frameworks with care homes and developing the principles for future chapters. A public pilot tour (n=46) recorded 97% of respondents inspired to act differently toward nature. The work won the Immersive Category at the International Media Festival of Wales 2025, was showcased at the House of Commons in September 2025, and is an Official Selection at both the SONA Immersive Storytelling Festival in Pittsburgh and the New Media Film Festival in LA 2026.
This paper argues that beginning with a dementia care home produces XR experiences of greater depth and accessibility for all. The ecological data-to-score methodology offers a replicable model for XR commissioners, educators, and developers seeking to embed Universal Design and nature-based learning at the structural level of a work.
