2014 – for clarinet, cello, piano, fixed electronics – 10:15
Sheet Music
Score (pdf)
Bb Clarinet Part (pdf)
Cello Part (pdf)
[please contact me for the fixed electronics sound file]
Performances
World Premiere: March 8, 2014
Michael Westwood (clarinet)
Erika Nielsen (cello)
Greg Millar (piano)
Other Performances:
July 12, 2014, Musideum
Michael Westwood (clarinet)
Erika Nielsen (cello)
Greg Millar (piano)
- If Not Us, Then Who? Michael Westwood (clarinet), Erika Nielsen (cello), Gregory Millar (piano) Buy on iTunes 10:27
Recording
Album: The Current Agenda
Buy Piece: iTunes
Date: September 19, 2017
Location: Canterbury Studios, Toronto
Musicians: Gregory Millar (piano), Erika Nielsen (cello), Michael Westwood (clarinet)
Producer: Frank Horvat and Jean Martin
Programme Notes
Some things haunt your mind. For me, one of those things was hearing the pain and desperation in Yeb Sano’s voice. Back in 2012 he was attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference on behalf of the Philippines when a devastating typhoon hit his country killing over a thousand people and leaving thousands more homeless.
This spurred him to make the most inspirational and heartfelt address to his fellow UN delegates urging them to stop debating about what could be done to reduce carbon emissions and take action as the Philippines was already facing the first-hand effects of man-made climate change. His speech made the headlines but unfortunately a year later another typhoon struck his country, this time killing over 6,000 and leaving 2 million homeless yet still no progress was made at the UN talks.
This composition is dedicated to those brave individuals who speak out for changes in government policies that would curb carbon emissions and lessen the impact and frequency of climate change tragedies.
This composition combines chamber instruments with audio from Yeb Sano’s speech given at the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Talks in Doha (November 26 to December 6, 2012) as well as the defiant shouts from activists during their protests outside the talks. You can watch some inspirational video footage from the conference on YouTube.
– Frank Horvat
Commissioned by Westwood Concerts.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[…] to feel an immense tug at your heart strings, take a listen to my climate change inspired piece If Not Us, Then Who?. It is the voices of climate change activists that appear in this composition, including Yeb Sano, […]