Reflection

Reflection

This specific composition was inspired by my relationship with climate change, which I realized (upon reflection) is largely built upon what I’ve heard. Either from stories of the damage it is causing to our world, speeches given by inspirational leaders and personal heroes such as Greta Thunberg or conversing with others about the imminent danger in order to coerce them into collaboration, I realized that my climate story is formed by the climate stories I’ve heard, or the ones I’ve forged with others. The stories that I hear, the narrative that the data creates, is what has shaped my experience with climate change. I attempted to capture this concept within my composition, utilizing a variety of different instruments, sounds, speeds, and rhythms to display the constant role climate change has had and will continue to have in my life juxtaposed with the variety of forms and feelings that accompany it. This piece is supposed to be able to be interpreted a variety of ways. Each section was created with very specific, personal moments in mind, but the point is for their essence and the feelings they create to remind the listener of an element of their own journey, their own story involving this global issue. The message of this piece is that climate change is an experience that is felt in a variety of different ways. It has impacted so many already and these implications will only continue to grow. My climate story is only a fragment of the larger narrative, but we all have something to say. The beauty of music is that its impact is subjective, the clarity that I find through listening to my piece can and will vary with each person that hears it. This mirrors the very nature of climate change and, if we all harness our climate stories, keep them from ending, together we can make a difference. Creating this piece was a long process and it brought about many emotions for me, but the most consistent one was a feeling of hope and inspiration as I processed the damage posed by this danger and realized that I am still here; we are still here. In the time we have left for change, we need to make noise, say our stories, work towards fighting for our earth.