Music of the Earth

About this Challenge Team

Few things move us like music. ‘Music of the Earth’ is a four-movement contemporary mini-symphony and emotional appeal inspired by research about our beautiful planet and climate and environmental change at large.

You can watch/listen to ‘Music of the Earth’, meet the team, follow our social media for updates/future events, and donate if you can to our accompanying fundraiser for Conservation International by following the links at https://linktr.ee/musicoftheearth

The project is a collaboration by Imperial College PhD students on this Challenge Team and seven talented young composers from around the world (mostly students / recent graduates of the Royal College of Music, London). It is also a co-production with the public and nature itself, as the symphony features field recordings from cities to forests across 8 countries submitted by the public. 

These field recordings were woven into the pieces which chart a broader narrative through the themes for each movement, as follows:

Movement I - The beauty of Earth today;
Movement II - The threat it is under as a result of climate and environmental change;
Movement III - The incredible work being done to mitigate these crises and provide solutions;
Movement IV - Return to a sustainable future in harmony with nature.

 Overall, our ambition was to sonically preserve aspects of nature, as well as bring people together around the crises confronting the Earth and how we can overcome them by returning to harmony with nature.

The resulting main November 2022 release spans from sweeping scores and haunting melodies to ambient and interactive experiences, hopefully taking the listener on a journey that appeals to the heart as well as the mind. Moreover, we hope the pieces can be a source of optimism and emotional resonance in the face of our generation’s greatest challenges.

 We are now looking to further share ‘Music of the Earth’ and potentially run more live events -- please follow our social media for updates!

 Thanks:

We are hugely grateful to all those who submitted sound clips of nature and the changing environment, who, along with the composers, made this music possible: Elaine B, Mark B, Rob B, Jack Campbell, Mahika Dixit, Eleanor Gardner, Tanith Hackney, Jacob Henstridge, Jade, SL, Josh Lanham, Sarah McCafferty, Fangjun Peng, Deborah Scott Anderson.

 We would also like to express our deep thanks to everyone who has listened to ‘Music of the Earth’.

 Get in touch!

If you would like to say hello or ask a question, please get in touch via email at music-of-the-earth@imperial.ac.uk or on social media at the details below. We look forward to hearing from you!

Follow us on social media for updates on the project: Twitter - @SSCPEarthMusic Instagram - @sscp.musicoftheearth

Team Members

Team Members
Core Imperial Team
Mark Boyd (Cohort 8)
Tanith Hackney (Cohort 8)
Josh Lanham (Cohort 8)
Neel Le Penru (Cohort 8) - team captain
Shawn Lee (Cohort 8)
Fangjun Peng (Cohort 8)

Composers

Jack Campbell (RCM, www.jackcampbell.uk?utm_campaign=moe-bio)
Alessandro Giovanetto (RCM)
Xiao Jiang (RCM, www.jiang-xiao.com)
Samuel Loveless (RCM, https://www.samueldloveless.co.uk)
Guillermo Pita (RCM, www.gpitamusic.com)
Anibal Vidal (RCM)
Indira Zhangabayeva (Guildhall School of Music and Drama)

Broader Team & Additional Helpers

Yanan Guo (Innovation Design Engineering MA+MSc student, Imperial College London & Royal College of Art)
Georgie Massen (Cohort 8)
Beltran Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha (Cohort 7)
Ellye Van Grieken (Royal College of Art Graduate, V&A Liaison)
Ric Zhang (Cohort 7)