EarthDay

Should musicians living in an era of climate crisis think about the ecological sustainability of their instruments? Can they afford to ignore the whole thing? Do choices matter? And where does the wood come from, anyway?

While music as a profession or hobby is not the worst imaginable environmental polluter, no-one in our time and age can afford to think they are above environmental responsibility. Musicians experience eco-anxiety especially for the amount of travel associated with their profession. What can an individual musician or music consumer do to help the environment, and is it possible to achieve change through music?

While climate change is a real concern for us all, there has not been a lot of noise about it on the music front so far. Committed climate action pioneers in Finland, however, include the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Flow Festival, both of which wish to set an example to other music organisations and provoke them to reflect on how to best participate in this endeavour that requires all humanity’s involvement.