University of Montana's Upcoming Performance Aims To Inspire Reflection, Action On Climate Change

An upcoming performance "Rising Tide" at the University of Montana will join science and art to explore what individuals can do to impact global sustainability and climate change.

The Fry Street Quartet will join physicist Robert Davies on stage to present "Rising Tide" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Montana Theatre. An interdisciplinary collaboration, the performance aims to inspire reflection, foster engagement and incite action at a pivotal moment for the environment. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased at http://bit.ly/2TlzpkF.

"Rising Tide" unfolds in a series of vignettes that explore the natural world from which we have emerged - and the human world that has emerged from us. Juxtaposing these two very different paradigms reveals the starkly different paths before us, and the opportunity to carve a safe and just operating space for humanity. With an original score by composer Laura Kaminsky, the music creates a contemplative space for the audience to process what we now know.

"The music is intended to make people think about things like water and glaciers and warming temperatures. But, like all art, it's open to interpretation. The project isn't meant to convert skeptics," Davies said in an interview with NPR's "All Things Considered." "It's about convincing people who already believe we have these problems to start behaving like it."

The Fry Street Quartet, comprised of violinists Robert Waters and Rebecca McFaul, violist Bradley Ottesen and cellist Anne Francis Bayless, has performed for audiences around the world. The dramatic landscape of northern Utah is now the quartet's home environment, and they prioritize creating a sense of place through their artistic endeavors and activities.

"Rising Tide" was created by Davies, who also narrates the performance. He has served as an officer and meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force, worked for NASA on the International Space Station project and taught at three universities. His scientific work has included research into interactions of spacecraft with the space environment, the fundamental nature of light and information and Earth's changing climate. For the past decade, his work has focused on communicating the critical science of climate change and sustainable systems.

Campus partners in bringing "Rising Tide" to UM include the Office of Sustainability, Entertainment Management program, the Montana IoE and National Science Foundation EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement OIA-1757351, College of Visual and Performing Arts, UM Dining, UM BRIDGES and ASUM Sustainability Center.

Photo: Physicist Robert Davies and the Fry Street Quartet will present "Rising Tide" at UM on March 21. Photo by Andrew McAllister.

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