International Women's Day - Celebrate Composer Stella Sung - Oceana Symphony
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we would like to introduce you to one of the most extraordinary women we know, Dr. Stella Sung, a national and international award-winning composer. Her extraordinary vision, Oceana Symphony, transports audiences into another world. We’ve had the pleasure to work with composer Dr. Stella Sung during the past few years to raise awareness about ocean pollution. Annie Crawley helped Dr. Stella Sung realize her vision of a film to accompany the symphony in order to give audiences an inside look to our ocean. Here’s the backstory to Oceana Symphony.
In the spring of 2016, Maestro Christopher Wilkins and Dr. Stella Sung attended a lecture at the New England Aquarium given by marine biologists Scott Kraus (VP and Senior Science Advisor, NEAq) and Christopher Clark (Cornell University) in which they learned about the problems of ocean noise pollution caused by seismic testing, the air guns used for this process, large ships and ocean vessels, and other man-made noises. The effects of these noises can be devastating for all marine species from fish to plankton, but particularly for those that depend upon sound waves for their communication, finding food sources, and navigation.
With this knowledge in mind, Dr. Stella Sung decided that her new composition, Oceana, would have a focal point of reminding us of how important the ecosystem of the oceans are for not only marine life but for human life. Stella compiled a soundtrack, comprised of recordings of marine life animal sounds (various whale, dolphin, seals, and other sounds) that runs throughout the piece. Oceana, the symphony, is divided into three basic sections; 1) the beauty, majesty, and mystery of the seas and the life forms that live there, 2) the man-made disturbances of that ecosystem, and 3) the hope that humans can find a balance of living alongside the oceans and marine life so that our co-existence is based upon respect and understanding and knowledge.
During the pandemic all our live performances were canceled and like everyone else we are not quite sure when we will be able to gather together. Because of PLANET OCEAN book launch, and Dr. Stella Sung’s story included, we wanted to showcase some short pieces to help transport you to the magic of what happens when artistic stories collide with science and community action. We have permission from the Akron Symphony Orchestra to share a few minutes of the pre-pandemic performance. To us, this priceless work acts as the message of our beloved ocean and all the animals we care for. Oceana Symphony combined with Oceana film is timely as so many ocean animals suffer because of ocean pollution. Oceana symphony was the first “call to action piece” Dr. Stella Sung produced. She was moved by what she learned and knew she needed to create a symphony to raise awareness about ocean noise pollution. We hope the short videos below will give you a sense of what it feels like to be transported to love and care for our PLANET OCEAN. We are working on figuring out how to live stream the entire production with a Q & A, so stay tuned for more Oceana news.
We hope you will join our team! It’s easy, you just need to commit to speaking up for the ocean. Without us, the ocean has no voice. Contact us and help us bring Oceana the symphony and film to an orchestra near you. We would love to share this magnificent work around the world. Our ocean thanks you and so do we!
More about Dr. Stella Sung
Dr Stella Sung served as the first Composer-in-Residence for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (2008-2011), and was one of the five composers nationally selected for a Music Alive award, a three-year award that allowed Dr. Sung to serve as Composer-In-Residence for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (2013-16), sponsored by New Music USA, the League of American Orchestras, ASCAP, the Aaron Copland Fund, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Premieres, performances, and commissions of Dr. Sung’s work have included compositions for world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the German Ministry of Culture (Rhineland-Pfalz), the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra, the Jacksonville (Fla.) Symphony Orchestra, and other university and regional orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and soloists.
Dr. Sung is director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology, and Entertainment (CREATE) at the University of Central Florida, College of Arts and Humanities.