Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, NACO Principal Youth Conductor and host
Aliénor Rougeot, climate activist and host
Together, we can make a difference through our actions. The Great Canadian Orchestra Field Trip may be coming to an end, but the musical compositions of Kelly Bado, R. Murray Schafer, and Jonathan Ring carry an energy that both inspires and reflects the passion of youth climate activists around the world.
Featuring performances the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Chamber Choir, musicians from the NAC Orchestra, and guest appearances from Wildlife DJ Ben Mirin and Indigenous rights advocate Autumn Peltier, this final installment looks at the creative world as a space for climate advocacy that inspires opportunities to take action.
Learner’s companion guide
In the Learner’s companion to Episode 3, students channel inspiration and reflection into action! Learn more about the music and musicians featured in the accompanying video series, and complete activities that range from making climate activism banners to composing soundscape compositions inspired by outdoor experiences.
Curriculum links: Science, Geography, Social Studies, Music, and Visual Arts
Learning outcomes
Compose your own soundscape compositions
Embrace your inner Wildlife DJ
Follow in the footsteps of youth climate activist Greta Thunberg
“Fear, anxiety, anger and sadness are all rational responses to the climate crisis. However, these emotions can leave many of us feeling stuck in an uncomfortable place. Taking action against climate change—at my own pace and within my capabilities—is the reason I feel hope and excitement for the future.”
Aliénor (Allie) Rougeot is a climate justice activist, and a program manager at Environmental Defence Canada where she advocates for a just transition for workers and communities. She has been a human rights advocate since a very young age, with a focus on climate justice since high school. She co-founded the group Fridays for Future Toronto and has led numerous student climate strikes in that role. She is a public speaker and workshop facilitator, using these opportunities to raise awareness on the urgency of the climate crisis, discuss the solutions that are available to us as a society and empower others to join the fight for climate justice. She has been recognized by The Starfish in the 25 under 25 Environmentalists, and by Corporate Knights in their 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders.
Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer’s Miniwanka, translated to “Moments of Water,” is a piece written for choir that explores water and the many forms it takes. With text set in the Indigenous languages Dakota, Wappo, Crow, Chinook, Achomawi, Otchipwe, Salish, Natick, Klamath, and Luiseno, this song set explores water’s journey through nature.
BEN MIRIN Wildlife DJ
Ben Mirin is an American musician, scientist, and explorer who makes every effort to communicate his love for nature to children and youth around the world. Combining his passion for music-making with his expert knowledge of biology and environmental sciences, Mirin has garnered the unique title of Wildlife DJ.
ANTONIO VIVALDI The Four Seasons: Winter
In The Four Seasons, each of the four movements begins with a short poem that sets the tone for the music to follow. Each poem describes a different part of the calendar year. A reflection of the poetry, Vivaldi’s work invites listeners to experience the outdoor world in constant transition from Spring to Summer to Autumn to Winter.
JONATHAN RING Fanfare for Greta
Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s passionate climate activism, American composer Jonathan Ring wrote the triumphant Fanfare for Greta. As Ring put it, “I began to think that if anyone were deserving of a fanfare, it would most certainly be Greta!”
Performed by the NAC Orchestra Brass and Percussion.
Weaving in influences from her African heritage, la chanson française, and American gospel, Kelly Bado’s music crosses cultural barriers to bring people together in joy and hope. Her striking vocals and uplifting melodies were recognized with a 2021 WCMA Francophone and Global Artist of the Year Award. With lyrics inspired by love, celebration and social equality, Kelly is committed to the vision of an inclusive world where we come together as citizens of this vast planetary village - each contributing our unique strengths to the common experience.
Autumn Peltier is the Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation and an Indigenous Rights & Water activist whose journey for justice has made waves around the globe.
Peltier captivated the world’s attention at the age of 12 when she admonished Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at an Assembly of First Nations event, for the choices he had made for her people and lack of support. She spoke her mind which led him to make her a promise, “I will protect the water.” It’s that promise to which she holds him accountable still today.
At 13, Peltier spoke at the UN General Assembly. Amongst many accolades she’s received the Sovereign Medal of Exceptional Volunteerism from the Governor-General of Canada and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. She’s been a featured speaker at The World Economic Forum, has been shortlisted for the International Children’s Peace Prize four times, and in 2021 was featured in Maclean’s Top 50 Canadian Power List. In 2022, Peltier was an Honorary Doctorate Inductee from Royal Roads University, received the Daniel G Hill Award from Ontario Human Rights Commission as well as the Emerging Canadian Leader Award from Public Policy Forum.
In the spring of this year, Autumn’s documentary movie The Water Walker, produced by Seeing Red Six Nations, was released on HBO Canada.
Benjamin H. Mirin hails from Brooklyn, New York. Deeply committed to the next generation of conservationists, he is a wearer of many hats.
Mirin is a musician, scientist, and explorer who makes every effort to communicate his love for nature to children and youth around the world. Combining his passion for music-making with his expert knowledge of biology and environmental sciences, Mirin has garnered the unique title of Wildlife DJ.
He works tirelessly to inspire love and admiration for the outdoor world through the digital manipulation of recorded plants, animals, and more. Mirin’s groundbreaking work in acoustic biology is supported by many prestigious groups including the National Geographic Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Source: Great Canadian Orchestra Field Trip, Episode 3 Learner’s Companion
Ryan (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist, creativity researcher, and multimedia producer based in Epekwitk / Prince Edward Island. His work as a musical performer and recording artist blends his formal training in concert percussion with a passion for contemporary and popular styles of music. In addition to regularly performing with professional ensembles such as the PEI Symphony Orchestra and the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra, Ryan has appeared in venues and on stages across North America — including Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado, and the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles, California. Ryan is a Teaching Artist with Canada's National Arts Centre (NAC), Educational Outreach Coordinator for the PEI Symphony Orchestra, and has received funds from National Geographic to complete call-to-action projects supported by his scholarly writing on the impacts of climate-induced displacement on community and culture. Separately, Ryan is a visual design contractor with the Canadian Army, he maintains a private piano and percussion studio, and instructs undergraduate courses at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI).
Ryan holds a Bachelor of Music from UPEI and a Master in Global Affairs from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Spain. He is currently working towards his doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) while balancing a busy production and project management portfolio with the NAC.
Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser
A passionate communicator, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. He is concurrently the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, and Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education of the San Francisco Symphony.
Daniel served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and was Cover Conductor with the Washington National Opera in 2020.
Daniel is the host of Canadian Broadcasting Company’s (CBC’s) nationally broadcast weekly radio show Centrestage.
He was also the subject of an award-winning, full-length CBC documentary called Disruptor Conductor, focussing on his concerts for neurodiverse, prison, African diaspora, and LGBTQ2S+ populations.
Daniel earned his Bachelor degrees in Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and his Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
Aliénor (Allie) Rougeot is a climate justice activist, and a program manager at Environmental Defence Canada where she advocates for a just transition for workers and communities. She has been a human rights advocate since a very young age, with a focus on climate justice since high school. She co-founded the group Fridays for Future Toronto and has led numerous student climate strikes in that role. She is a public speaker and workshop facilitator, using these opportunities to raise awareness on the urgency of the climate crisis, discuss the solutions that are available to us as a society and empower others to join the fight for climate justice. She has been recognized by The Starfish in the 25 under 25 Environmentalists, and by Corporate Knights in their 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders.
Tucked into the geographic centre of North America, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) regularly surprises guest conductors and artists with the exceptional professionalism and musicianship of its 67 musicians. Described as ‘an orchestra with a sound all its own’, the WSO is home to many unique offerings including the annual Winnipeg New Music Festival, held every year during the darkest, coldest time of winter.
Since its debut in 1948 to an audience of more than 3,000, the WSO has proven that it is integral to Winnipeg’s rich cultural life. Every year the WSO delights more than 225,000 audience members with innovative programming and musical excellence. WSO deeply values education and community and presents creative education programs for students of all ages, along with continually evolving community collaborations.
Founded by Jon Washburn in 1971 and now led by Artistic Director Kari Turunen (since 2019), the Vancouver Chamber Choir is one of Canada’s premier professional choral ensembles, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence.
The choir has presented concerts at home in Vancouver and on tour across Canada and around the world. Honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America, the choir has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous awards. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of nearly 400 choral works by 150 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian.
Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.
Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.
Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
“The world is a huge musical composition that’s going on all the time, without a beginning and presumably without an ending.” (Robin, W., August 2021)
R. Murray Schafer lived within a world of discovery. Despite obstacles, Schafer was always driven to explore. Growing up in Toronto, Schafer was born blind in one eye; because of this, he was discouraged from pursuing studies in music. Schafer ended up attending the Royal Conservatory of Music studying piano with John Weinzweig.
Schafer continued to follow his curiosity, spending time exploring the sounds around him and the “sound worlds” of other composers. Schafer’s life journey led him to Europe. There he had the opportunity to “[interview] British composers for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, learning medieval German, [and] attending a folk music conference in Romania.” (Robin, W., August 2021)
Both in his work as a composer and educator, his creative exploration centred around soundscapes that he explored while teaching at Simon Fraser University. This led to the development of creative music education—where students were encouraged to “bring an interesting sound to school” or “hum along with a tune that they had heard on a street corner.”
Murray Schafer believed that we are all composers:
“We are the composers of this huge, miraculous composition that’s going on around us. We can improve it, or we can destroy it. We can add more noises, or we can add more beautiful sounds. It’s all up to us.” (Robin, W., August 2021)
Schafer passed away on August 14th, 2021, leaving behind a legacy of creative work that continues to inspire the next generation.
Source: Great Canadian Orchestra Field Trip, Episode 2 Learner's Companion
The young ginger-haired Antonio Vivaldi was driven by two things: his music and faith vocation. Growing up as a virtuoso violinist, Vivaldi’s career combined both his love of music and religious values. After going into the priesthood, Vivaldi was appointed musician-in-residence at an orphan school for girls. This job posting led to him writing many violin concertos and string chamber compositions premiered by the girls living at the school. Known for his “bright and cheerful” (Kids Corner, n.d.) compositional style, Vivaldi wrote over 500 virtuosic concertos—mostly for the violin.
Source: Great Canadian Orchestra Field Trip, Episode 2 Learner's Companion
A rock star in the classical music world, Jonathan Ring is a renowned horn player and educator with a passion for eclectic styles of music. Born in Massachusetts, Ring has built an impressive career in the San Francisco area. A wearer of many hats, he serves as second horn for the San Francisco Symphony, faculty with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and he is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated Bay Brass.
Source: Great Canadian Orchestra Field Trip, Episode 3 Learner's Companion
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