As part of the Chorus America Conference, EcoVoice co-founder Kirsten Hedegaard will be moderating the “For the Good of the Earth: Choral Music and Eco-Activism” panel. She will be joined by Dwight Bigler, Shawn Kirchner, Robert Kyr, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. This discussion will explore how composers are engaging with this issue in a variety of ways and how choral music provides a unique opportunity to grapple with the climate crisis. Join this panel of composers for a conversation on socially conscious repertoire that focuses on environmentalism and the growing anxiety regarding climate change.

Listen to the latest podcast from In Unison S7E04:Chorus America: Dr. Kirsten Hedegaard - For the Good of the Earth - Choral Music & EcoActivism. This episode features a sneak peak of what is to come at the Chorus America Annual Conference. Hear songs like “Fire,” by Katerina Gimon, performed by Loyola Chamber Choir, directed by Kirsten Hedegaard and “Earth Song,” by Frank Ticheli, performed by Loyola Chorale & Chamber Choir, and University of Illinois  (chorus members from Urbana-Champaign, Springfield, and Chicago campuses), directed by Kirsten Hedegaard.

Join Sounds Classical Co-hosts LaRob K. Rafael and Kristina Lynn as they interview EcoVP co-founder Kirsten Hedegaard about her work with the EcoVoice Project. Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider will also weigh in on her eco-choral work Mass for the Endangered, which the New Earth Ensemble performed this past summer.

Students from University Illinois Chicago and Loyola University Chicago performed various songs to celebrate the Earth and inspire climate activism, including new repertoire by Shawn Kirchner and Luke Wallace. Guest speakers Rachel Leamon, Thomas Aláan, and Vivian Cossey spoke about a variety of topics regarding the climate crisis.

Although this event was originally planned to be at the Madonna della Strada Chapel garden, mother nature relocated us to the Mullady Theatre.

Check out the video below for the full event!

Published in Vol. 60-1 of the National Collegiate Choral Organization’s Choir Scholar and American Choral Review, Dr. Kirsten Hedegaard’s “Environmental Activism through Choral Music: John Luther Adams’s Canticles of the Holy Wind” analyzes the work of John Luther Adams and music’s ability to address social issues. The paper explores the choral works of John Luther Adams and provides a detailed analysis of his Canticles of the Holy Wind.

New Earth Ensemble was featured in this Los Angeles Times Podcast, which details Dr. Lucy Jones’s work with climate change communication.

Loyola’s Ignatian Voices are joined by members of the New Earth Ensemble to perform choral works celebrating birds, bees, and butterflies. The performance travels throughout the museum and features Blackbird by Lennon and McCartney, Bumblebee by Anders Edenroth, and Butterfly by Mia Marakoff, with accompanying conservation action items provided by museum scientists.

Loyola University Chicago’s 2023 annual Climate Change Conference centered around the topic of climate refugees. The key note speaker was filmmaker, writer and producer of the award-winning film Climate Refugees, Michael Nash. Panelists included Shelly Culbertson, Yves Umuhoza, and Fr. Tom Smolich, SJ. 

The University Chorale opened the conference with a performance of “Courage to Care” by Shawn Kirchner, a new work that was written for the EcoVoice Project and premiered at the 2022 American Geophysical Union Meeting in December.