MUSIC VIDEOS
Recorded at Colburn’s Zipper Hall in Los Angeles
THE REBEL REEF
Emotional theme song from Tela Coral’s short film, The Rebel Reef: Seeds of Hope. Composed immediately after visiting one of the last remaining healthy elkhorn coral groves in the world with Tela Coral’s science/filming expedition team. Music for the Ocean aims to help save this coral for future generations to enjoy.
BIOLUMINESCENCE
Piece in the 2nd half of the show celebrating the beauty of deep-sea creatures who make their own light in the dark. Features marine life hydrophone recordings, such as sperm whales and deep-sea shrimp crackling.
GARDEN EELS
A dance-like piece (open to choreography with dancers if desired!) depicting these sandy sea floor creatures that live in places like Cabo Pulmo National Park, Baja Sur.
DEEP SEA FANGS
Deep Sea Techno! A dramatization of life in the Abyssopelagic Zone (4,000 - 6,000 meters down).
DORADO (MAHI MAHI) / FLYING FISH CHASE
Dorado/mahi mahi are beautiful creatures that can achieve high speeds while hunting. This piece expresses their strong, muscular nature while the animation captures the sunny, clear-blue waters they inhabit. Also available in a violin duet version.
PACIFIC BLUEFIN TUNA MIGRATION
Think “underwater rodeo”. A Copland/Debussy-style showpiece that gives propulsion as a conservation success story. Pacific tuna populations have been rebounding since a nadir in 2014 thanks to interventions and cooperation between fishing companies and organizations such as Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
TITAN TRIGGERFISH DISPLAY
Virtuosic duet to express the attitude of this “reef boss” species, complete with biting two-hand pizzicato.
SIXTH SENSE (ELECTRORECEPTION)
This piece imagines what it's like to experience the world through electricity, as sharks and other creatures do. You can hear shrimp and distant whale whistles, captured by hydrophones placed 5,552 meters (18,215 feet) on the Takuyo-Daigo Seamount.
WHITE-SPOTTED PUFFERFISH SCULPTURES
Recently it was discovered that sand sculptures several meters wide, all over the seafloor off the coast of Amami Oshima, Japan, were being created by white-spotted pufferfish as a way to attract mates. They are little artists! This pianos solo, performed by Hui Wu, explores the feeling of loneliness in the vast ocean, coupled with hope for finding love out there.
MOTHER JELLYFISH
Imagines life for the Psychedelic Medusa Jellyfish, a species from the deep sea that keeps its young inside its body. A circle-of-fifths harmonic palette gives a feeling of circularity. Inspired by the music of Joe Hisaishi.
THE CALL OF THE REEF
Recent research has shown that coral larvae follow the sound of a healthy coral reef in order to find a good place to settle and grow. This piece uses hydrophone recordings from St. John’s in the Caribbean - audio captured by Dr. Aran Mooney and his team at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
BLACK OCELLARIS CLOWNFISH DANCE (LIVE AT USC)
Most people know clownfish in their orange variety (aka Nemo)! However, the Darwin variety are black, with feisty attitudes. This is an Irish-inspired jig to reflect their stationary (at home in their anemones), but ever-in-motion nature.