Music as a Powerful Tool
Along with my friend and fellow musician Rosemary, I decided to organize a musical flash mob* on the day before the September 2019 Climate Strike, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to bring people’s attention to the strike. I also wanted to back [support] the strike organizers, a youth group called the “Sustainabiliteens.” They were enthusiastic about our proposal.
We used an arrangement (created by another Canadian orchestral musician) of a short section of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, known as “Ode to Joy,” which has been used historically in protests—from the Chinese student broadcast at Tiananmen Square, to demonstrations in Chile against the Pinochet dictatorship, to concerts celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall.
We chose the city center Vancouver Public Library with its large public plaza as the site for the event and then reached out to local musicians.
Our local musicians’ union president, a bass player, was enthusiastic about the project and a strong ally. He had a few informal “sessions” with me, sharing his thoughts and fears about climate change.
We contacted one of the conductors of my opera orchestra, who very much wanted to participate. He even changed the orchestra’s rehearsal time to make it work (which almost never happens in my business!).
Rosemary contacted our city council for help in getting permission from the Public Library to use their indoor atrium space in the event of rain. The council is supportive of and active in climate action, and its members immediately wrote to the chief librarian encouraging them to give us full support, which they did!
The idea was a solid one, and people wanted to be part of it. In the end about forty orchestral players and over a hundred singers showed up at the event, eager and happy to participate.
We invited the media, and volunteers handed out leaflets about the Climate Strike. We made a big banner with “Musicians for Climate Action” on it and posters advertising the strike. I borrowed a microphone system and spoke for about thirty seconds after the music finished. I said that we were playing on lands stolen from the Coast Salish peoples and encouraged everyone to follow the leadership of Indigenous peoples. I also encouraged everyone to support the youth leaders of the Climate Strike.
Rosemary and I got close doing the project. I introduced the idea of mini-sessions, and we sometimes did them during our almost nightly phone planning times. (We put the flash mob together in just two weeks.) We cried together on the phone on the morning of the event about how nervous we were and also felt powerful and excited, knowing that music can be so inspirational.
The flash mob was one of the most powerful things I had ever organized as a musician. One of my favourite moments was looking at the faces of the musicians as they played. They were clearly pleased to be using their skills and passion to say something important with music. The media included the event in their reports on the climate actions of the week. And a video of it, edited by my friend Peter, has been shared widely. Here is a link to it: <https://peterandclaire.smugmug.com/Music/Ode-to-joy-climate-protest/n-9z2k4X/i-Bpb98tB/A>.
I’m not sure what is next, but the fire has been lit. I love that there is much more conversation now about climate change in my orchestra and musical circles. We are noticing what it is possible to do together.
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion lists for leaders of artists and for leaders in the care of the environment
(Present Time 198, January 2020)