Boulder Phil and city collaborating on climate performance

Sep. 23—Boulder and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra are partnering on a performance meant to inspire climate action through art.

The performance, called "Hymn to the Earth," is happening on the Boulder Phil's opening night and will explore the consequences of climate change.

"We should be looking to harness the power of music for the benefits it can offer in facing some of the world's most urgent problems," Climate Initiatives Director Jonathan Koehn stated in a city news release.

"The arts are an incredible medium to bring people together and inspire action," Koehn added.

According to information from the Boulder Phil, the performance will explore "the consequences of human greed and indulgence through musical allegory." It includes Strauss' vivid tone poem "Don Juan," and the world premiere of composer Drew Hemenger's "Ozymandias."

The piece draws on Native American texts, United Nations climate reports and speeches by Greta Thunberg as well as Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem of the same name.

"Each passing year, I find myself becoming increasingly fervent about our fragile environment, and as climate change is rapidly moving from an issue of political debate to obvious reality, this crucial issue seems to finally be gaining traction with the global community," Hemenger said in a statement on the Boulder Phil's website. "Musically, my two greatest passions are the voice and the orchestra, and so I jumped at the opportunity to combine these forces in a work concerning the danger to the world we live in."

Boulder's Climate Initiatives department will be at the event to share climate action ideas and resources and to collect recordings for its audio collage project, in which community members are asked to share their vision for a climate resilient Boulder.

The performance will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at the University of Colorado Boulder's Macky Auditorium.

For more details and tickets, visit boulderphil.org/hymn-to-the-earth.