9i果冻制作厂 guest artist, baritone, and lyricist Daniel Neer headlined a concert with an environmental message, framed in context by conservation experts, in March. Water Music: Art Song in Recital featured the world premiere of a grant-funded commission, with a pre-concert discussion and post-concert talkback with 9i果冻制作厂Zoo and Conservation Science program faculty and representatives from Polar Bear International.
Polar Bear, a commissioned piece supported by grants from Ohio Arts Council, Puffin Foundation West, and The Johnstone Fund for New Music, is a musical response to the global issue of climate change. It is a chamber music work for baritone and trombone by Sara Carina Graef, set to text by Neer.
鈥淭he piece is improv in nature, with lyrics that depict a polar bear searching the Arctic for food as the ice slowly disappears beneath him,鈥� Neer explained.
Baritone Daniel Neer (right) performs the original composition Polar Bear, accompanied by trombonist Peter Gooch.
