• It is taking far too long for us to acknowledge the damage we have done to the world's water and to indigenous people and to take action : truth, reconciliation, change. Scientists have discovered that some whale songs actually evolve over time. It is my hope that the choirs who perform this work with me and all those who hear it will refuse to let what the whales are saying be lost in the ocean and will join their song in calling for respect and reciprocity. (Deantha Edmunds, May 19, 2024, Podium 2024)
• Stay humble, keep listening and keep learning. That is how we will use choral music as a way to advocate and change the environmental crisis that we're facing (Elise Naccarato, May 19, 2024, Podium 2024)

Note: a transcript of this show and a translation of episode é157 podium 2024 - que pouvons-nous chanter et faire de plus ? can be found in the 'Transcript' tab.

Welcome to a special episode of the conscient podcast featuring a bilingual panel that I facilitate called ‘Voicing the ecological crisis: what more can we sing and do? It recorded on Sunday, May 19, 2024, as part of Podium 2024, the Open Voices, Open Minds choral conference and festival organized by Choral Canada and l’Alliance chorale du Québec in Tiohtià:ke on the unceded traditional territory of the Kanien'keha:kaé (Montreal).

I had the honor of selecting the panelists and moderating this important conversation. 

You will hear the presentations of Deantha Edmunds and Elise Naccarato in English in this episode. I invite you to listen to é157 of balado conscient to hear the French language presentations from this panel by Megan Chartrand and Sarah Fioravanti. You’ll find a transcription of their presentations in the ‘transcript’ section of this episode. 

I have to admit that the subject of our conversation that Sunday afternoon was extremely serious, complex and I'd even say existential, but I reminded the assembly that I had promised in the program that we would ‘leave the conversation with a practical reality check while humming with hope’.

But how does one ‘hum with hope’ when we are facing imminent societal collapse due to ? I asked the group and I asked myself how choral music or collective singing can help?

I also reminded delegates that the ecological crisis, be it climate change, loss of biodiversity, the ravages of extractive capitalism, etc is deepening at a frightening pace, leaving many, including artists, feeling disempowered, demoralized and sometimes in denial.

So when Meghan Hila, the Executive Director of Choral Canada, asked me to help out with this  panel, I was very pleased to facilitate conversations about climate change specifically and how commissioning new works on ecological themes, strategies to decrease the carbon footprint of choral music activities and how to engage in increased collective political action as a community of artists and singers.  I admire the leadership of Choral Canada and learned a lot from listening to their artistic work and innovative strategies. 

The congress itself was quite fabulous and it was good to remember that the Canadian choral community has a long history of engagement and foresight with environmental issues.

For example, during Podium 2024, Nicholas Fairbank talked about Environmental Topics in Canadian Choral Music and the long list of choral music that are already in circulation on environmental themes.

I also attended a session by composer Katerina Gimon, poet Lauren Peat and conductor Elise Naccarato about their Unsung: If the Earth Could Sing project, an environmentally-inspired choral cycle and so on over 3 days.

I also heard about choral activities that explore some of the root causes of the ecological crisis such as colonisation and disconnection from nature. The Friday night, May 17th I attended a groundbreaking concert called Ahskennon’nia : songs of peace where one of our panelists, Deantha Edmunds, was a soloist. She talks about it during her presentation. 

Deantha was also a soloist on May 18th with her Song of the Whale composition performed with the Holy Heart Chamber Choir of Newfoundland. I was deeply moved by this gorgeous soundscape composition that ends with the words ‘carry the song on, evolve’. 

Those 5 words stayed with me : ‘Carry the song on, evolve…’

I also heard some engaging discourse about the intersection of indigenous and non-indigenous musical collaborations, about moving from the colonial notion of choirs towards collective and group singing, about how choirs are often a microcosm of the diversity of our society with all its complexities, how the canon of choral music is being challenged and rethought, how listening itself is evolving and so on.  

However, what I do not hear at this congress, and to be honest, I don’t hear it much elsewhere in the arts sector, is a recognition and a sense of urgency that we are in an existential climate and nature emergency.

This was troubling to me. 

For example, as we spoke on May 19th, wildfires were ravaging across western Canada and our fellow citizens were migrating to safer ground and that sadly this pattern will be amplified in the future.

But I also said that who better than artists, singers, composers and educators to help society work through these complexities…

For example, professor Adam Con from the University of Victoria mentioned at a panel on education that choral music is well suited to the challenges that we face because collective singing is participative, community engaging, cooperative, inclusive and accessible activity.

I agree with Professor Con and think we’re going to need more choral community activities about the ecological crisis as our future unfolds.

First you’ll hear Inuk singer and composer Deantha Edmunds, who will talk about her experience with performances about the ecological crisis and reconciliation. 

She speaks for 10 minutes followed by conductor and choral music director Elise Naccarato, who will share her experience and insights with commissioning and producing choral works about social justice and ecological issues.

After the panel presentations there were 3 questions from the audience. 

This first was about the predominance of women in climate change advocacy. Deantha Edmunds responded. The second intervention was from veteran choral music composer Donald Patriquin. 

• As a composer and as a proactive composer, singers and we must all get the ecological message out to those who will inherit the earth. Who are those: the children. There has to be much more there because they absorb so much. They absorb much more than we do at our age. So let's compose works for children.’

The final question was about programming and audience response to socially engaged music to which Elise Naccarato and Deantha Edmunds responded. 

Please see links in the episode notes for the panlists bios and note that the sound quality was not optimal because of the reverberation in the room so please pay close attention or consult the transcription when in doubt.

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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Hey conscient listeners, 

I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). 

It’s my way to give back.

In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. 

Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads or BlueSky.

I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on March 26, 2025