Hello Music Lovers! Have you heard the story of this years artwork?

Climate Change, Whales and Hope: Story of the Art Poster
Susan Chambers, Artist and Writer

The Long Song of Survival, bridges prehistoric and modern oceans through the story of the sperm whale lineage and the changing climate of Earth across millions of years, while also reflecting the themes of the Oregon Coastal Premiere of Adam Schoenberg’s composition, Losing Earth. Schoenberg’s percussion-driven concerto explores the science of climate change and humanity’s journey on Earth, moving from upheaval and loss toward resilience and hope — themes echoed throughout the artwork’s contrasting marine worlds.

On the left, Livyatan melvillei — the massive predatory ancestor of today’s sperm whale — swims through the warm tropical seas of the Miocene epoch. The erupting volcanic landscape behind it references the dramatic climatic and geologic transformations that reshaped life on Earth after ancient extinction events and changing ocean conditions. Surrounding the ancient whale are Miocene-era marine species, including scallops preserved today in the fossil-rich Empire Formation of Coos Bay, linking Oregon’s coastline to a prehistoric marine ecosystem still visible in the region’s geology.

On the right, a modern sperm whale moves through present-day waters along a cooler, more temperate coastline shaped by contemporary climate change and shifting marine habitats. The transition from tropical to subtropical and temperate environments reflects the long arc of adaptation and survival across geologic time.

Sperm whales communicate through powerful percussive “clicks,” among the loudest biological sounds in the ocean, creating a natural parallel to the concerto’s emphasis on percussion. Just as Adam Schoenberg’s Losing Earth uses rhythm and resonance to tell the story of Earth’s changing climate and humanity’s place within it, the whales in this painting symbolize endurance, communication, and continuity across eras of environmental change. The connection is further enriched through a performance by contrabassoon soloist Nicole Buette of composer Ruth Gipps’ miniature Leviathan, which musically evokes the legendary whale of myth and sea, bridging imagination, history, and the awe inspired by these immense ocean creatures. Together, the music and artwork invite reflection on both the fragility and resilience of life in an evolving world, ultimately ending on a hopeful note of survival and connection.

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