A Symphony to Save the Planet

A new film from Boulder-based conductor Bahman Saless brings the story of our environment to life through the music of composer Jean Sibelius with the goal of raising awareness of and inspiring activism around the future of our planet. Blending classical music, film and climate storytelling, The Sibelius Project: Symphony to Save the Planet, will premiere on Saturday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Macky Auditorium Concert Hall as part of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra’s Masterpiece Season Finale. 

For over 25 years, Saless – music director of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra – has engaged with themes of nature and conservation through his work scoring music for dozens of documentaries, leading him to feel the urgency of climate change and the need to take action. While studying the music of Sibelius in 2020, Saless was inspired by his seventh symphony during a thunderstorm in Boulder and the concept for the film took shape. 

“The music of Sibelius is so intimately connected to nature. You can hear and see nature in every phrase," said Saless. “I want people to leave the auditorium feeling emotionally connected to what is happening to our environment and inspired to make a change.” 

The team behind Boulder Chamber Orchestra believes that music is the ultimate form of communication, connecting people in ways no other medium can. This film experience is an example of just that. It takes audiences on a visual journey from deep space to the ocean floor, across the skies and into the Arctic, where the impact of climate change becomes unmistakably clear. Throughout, audiences will also hear the beauty of our nature and danger that it’s in through the music of Sibelius, encouraging a deeper connection than the imagery could on its own. 

To kick-off the concert prior to the film, the program features the Colorado premiere of Ode to the Rockies, an overture celebrating 20 years of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra and first performed at Carnegie Hall. The work weaves in themes from two beloved Colorado songs, “Where the Columbines Grow” and John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” and was highly praised by New York Classical Review.

“This work was written for the people of Colorado but has never been performed for Colorado audiences,” Saless said. “Presenting it in Boulder will bring the project full circle – it’s a chance to finally share it with the community that inspired it. I hope audiences feel a sense of pride, nostalgia and connection to this place we call home.”

The evening’s program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s powerful Symphony No. 5.

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