THE RIVERS ARE OUR BROTHERS
…the Rivers are our Brothers is a song cycle on ecological responsibility told from the point of view of the land. Written by Majel Connery and performed by Connery in collaboration with Edwin Huizinga and Ben Matus, the songs in the cycle take a first-person view of nature, ascribing human qualities and feelings to elements of the landscape: water, trees, mountains, rivers, and clouds
Artwork by: Joe Baker
Musical Headwaters is a Musica Sierra initiative to create new musical compositions inspired by the Sierra Valley; bridging outdoor education, school performances, and Social & Emotional Learning to deepen our connection to earth.
Composers and musicians spend one week at the historic Lemon Canyon Ranch nestled in the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River to compose and perform original works which reflect the surrounding beauty of the Sierras.
“The goal is to give nature a voice. I wanted allow these vibrant things to speak on their own behalf. The choice to use a vocoder might seem unusual, but it has the uncanny ability to become these other voices. The title of the cycle is based on a quote from the Native American leader, Chief Seattle, who believed we must relate to our environment the way we relate to our closest kin.”
The Rivers are our Brothers premiered June 2021 in a series of concerts including the Sky Room at the Nevada Museum of Art, The Lost Marbles Ranch, the Bulson Farm House on the Sierra River Valley Preserve, and in 17 mini concerts for elementary school classrooms preschool through 12 in Sierra-Plumas County.
Musical Headwaters’ original compositions are freely available to parents, students, and educational institutions to enhance all Nature-Based or natural science curriculum through the inclusion of the Visual and Performing Arts and Project Based Learning.
Read more about the commission, and the artists here.
