Dr. Lucy Jones and cellist Zachary Mowitz met when they were both invited to participate in a concert at Western University in London, ON, Canada earlier this year. They both share a passion for music and a profound commitment to harnessing its influence as a driver for climate action. Mowitz has been using the Tempo Toolkit as he advocates for environmental action. This resource provides essential scientific insights for creating compositions and programs that blend artistry with science, to support and evoke climate action.

Recently, at his recital at the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, Mowitz discussed with the audience about the Tempo approach.

"When presented with the opportunity to perform a recital at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, I wanted to demonstrate how music can powerfully engage listeners with the climate crisis in an emotionally constructive way. I had been exploring various ways to do this, but after meeting Lucy and learning about TEMPO, I decided to both highlight TEMPO in this venue that is so central to Europe – just outside of Brussels, seat of the EU – and structure the program in a way that creates a "trajectory of hope”, Mowitz explained.

“The program moves through pieces that acknowledge the more difficult and often paralyzing emotions evoked by crises such as climate change (with several works explicitly concerned with the environment), eventually bringing us to a place of joy and pride. Bach's Chaconne – one of the program's central pieces – explores the myriad of places that grief can take us, with powerful notes of hope mixed in, while the Chopin Sonata – the final work – begins in a dismal state and goes through a dramatic journey, landing in a place of pride and celebration.”

In the following video, you can listen to his speech and enjoy the musical performance: