NoMowMay
written by Iman Habibi
This Composing Earth blog is supported by New Music USA and featured on NewMusicBox.
An essential component of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music's Climate Commitment, Composing Earth is a commissioning program for composers who recognize that climate change — climate disruption — is a bona fide civilizational emergency.
Composing Earth asks for a two-year commitment from Composer Alumni of GLFCAM. In the first year, composers receive a study stipend to participate in a monthly discussion group with peers, Gabriela, and renowned scholar/communicator of climate science (and music lover) Dr. Rob Davies. These meetings provide an opportunity to review articles, books, documentaries, and online resources regarding the climate crisis, allowing the composer time to find their own personal stories which inspire their commissioned work in the second year. Along the way, "weekly musings" are sent out every Wednesday by a member of the cohort to the full group. Some of these musings, whether in the form of personal letters and other times developed into soulful essays, are featured in the series below.
Originally shared as a Weekly Musing as part of the Composing Earth program
June 9, 2021
It seems as though I have been assigned the hefty task of writing the last musing (at least for the time being). Your musings have all been so incredibly dear to me, and I am going to miss receiving these weekly e-mails. More than anything, our climate change studies have helped me gain tremendous perspective, to understand climate change from the vantage point of the individuals experiencing and digesting it, and to hear of their struggles, worries, and aspirations as they ride the rogue waves of this crisis. And while it is necessary to learn about the experiences of those most immediately affected by climate change in various parts of the world, I am equally interested in the stories I have heard from every one of you. As a fellow musician, I often find your thoughts and solutions to be more easily applicable in my own life.
In the wunderschönen month of May, the foliage in Ontario transitions (over a few days) from lifeless frozen grey to a tropical rain forest with a hundred shades of green. We have been experiencing many temperature oddities this year, a very mild winter, followed by an erratic April and May that swung between 25-30 (centigrade) degree temperatures, and freezing cold, setting many records along the way for the hottest and coldest days for the time of year. As I type, we are in the middle of a heat wave warning. This year, we are participating in a campaign called "#NoMowMay:" Those with a lawn are encouraged to mow less, and to not mow at all in the month of May, a critical time especially for butterflies, bees and other bugs to feast on wild flowers. The campaign was initiated by Plantlife, and caught on quickly around the world and has been circulating widely on social media. Sadly, we seem to be the only people participating in our neighbourhood. Next year, I hope we can have a #NoMowMay sign put in our yard, both to let the neighbhours know why our house looks like a meadow, and to spread the word and hopefully encourage others to consider doing the same.
Thanks to this initiative, we discovered all sorts of new wild flowers in our own back yard, which we had cut in previous years before they had a chance to appear. We now share our home with a beautiful Eastern Bumble Bee who lives in a screw hole on the stairs to our house, and feasts on the wild flowers, as well as many varieties of butterflies. As you may know, there has been a significant reduction in the population of many butterfly and bee species in recent years, and they are fighting for survival by changing their breeding patterns.
I am also continuously thinking of ways in which we can make our practice, as musicians, more green and sustainable. The hardest part has been to identify the priorities, the areas needing the most immediate attention (apart from the obvious one being frequent long-distance travel). Like many of you, I have also been receiving strong resistance from organizations when I suggest alternative approaches in their plans going forward. It boggles my mind: many of them imply that they are short on funds coming out of the pandemic, perhaps as an excuse to offer subpar rates, yet they are unwilling to consider more economical solutions. It has been my hope that we might be more able to ask for a hybrid of in-person and virtual appearances going forward, and support local musicians, but at this stage, most organizations seem to be tired of the virtual platform, and very eager to go back to an in-person format, start traveling/touring, and collaborating with international names again.
As always, please feel free to send me your thoughts! It is always great to hear from you.
Iman Habibi, D.M.A. (Michigan) is an Iranian-Canadian composer and pianist, and co-founder of the piano duo ensemble, Piano Pinnacle. He has received commissions from The Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra, twice attained the First Prize at the SOCAN Awards, as well as International POLYPHONOS award, and The Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award. Find out more on Iman's website.