A world where music reconnects people to the planet, inspiring care, compassion, and stewardship.
The EcoVoice Project is hiring!
We are very proud and grateful to announce that we are hiring a Managing Director for our blossoming organization!
Birds in Plight Call for Scores
What does a changing sky sound like?
The EcoVoice Project invites composers to give voice to birds in flight… and birds in plight
The EcoVoice Project is excited to announce its second annual call for scores. The “Birds in Plight” call for scores encourages composers to submit new choral works about or inspired by birds. While compositions do not need to be specifically about endangered species, pieces that address bird populations in decline will receive special consideration.
Five finalists will be chosen for the “Birds in Plight” performance in October 2026. The performance will feature professional singers from The EcoVoice Project, conducted by Kirsten Hedegaard. Additional performances will also be planned at other universities throughout North America. In addition to these live performances, composers will also receive professional recordings of their works.
“What the Earth Remembers”
the earth is telling us her story, still.
& that story is always unfolding. even now. especially now.
–Marcus Amaker, “What the Earth Remembers”
Partnering with Handel Choir of Baltimore, University of Michigan, and Northwest Chamber Chorus, The EcoVoice Project has commissioned a new work with libretto from celebrated poet Marcus Amaker and music by Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo.
What the Earth Remembers, an oratorio by Shawn E. Okpebholo with text by Marcus Amaker, explores creation care in a time of climate crisis. Moving from childlike wonder to collective reckoning, the work traces a world of rising heat, vanishing life, and the fragile, often fractured relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through images of water, root systems, and memory, it reflects on how the earth holds our stories—both the harm we have done and the responsibility we carry. If the earth remembers everything, what will it remember about us—and will it remember that we learned how to care?
Marcus Amaker
Shawn Okpebholo
Check out our WBEZ Interview!
EcoVP Director Kirsten Hedegaard and Ammo’naka librettist Lokosh sat down with Sasha-Ann Simons from WBEZ’s “In the Loop” to discuss the world premiere of Ammo’naka and how it invites us all to consider our connection to the earth!
The EcoVoice Project joined the Elgin Master Chorale’s outreach program for the Educational Connections Concert!
The EcoVoice Project’s director, Dr. Kirsten Hedegaard, conducted the Elgin Master Chorale for the annual “Educational Connections Concert” this February. More than 500 students came together for this powerful celebration of music, learning, and our shared responsibility to care for the planet.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this meaningful and inspiring experience possible!
EcoVP News
From interviews and news articles to teaching and conferences, check out what the EcoVP is up to out there in the world.
Support the EcoVP
Please support The EcoVP today. 🎶
We can’t do this without the help of others—of people like you who see the power of music to change hearts and minds and bring good into the world. A gift of any amount is meaningful if given from the heart ❤️ and goes to support the work of musicians and other artists, scientist and activist collaborators, and students who make the work of The EcoVP a reality. And it’s also tax deductible!
The EcoVP is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.