The Coming Storm Explores The Future of Our Planet through Music

San Diego State University’s Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra will come together at Patrick Henry High School’s PHAME Performing Arts Center at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15 for The Coming Storm, a concert focusing on life on Earth and trouble that awaits the human race if we continue to treat our planet poorly.

Opening with Mendelssohn’s rarely heard concert overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and the west coast premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Feast During a Plague, the orchestra brings the audience into the stark reality of our present situation. The Wind Symphony’s second-half performance of Steven Bryant’s exciting new multi-media “Automatic Earth” ponders the future of the planet.

"The title of The Coming Storm was inspired by Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage,” said director of orchestras Michael Gerdes.  “It is an acknowledgment of how important this tiny Earth is to our survival and a warning about the ‘coming storm’ as the human species continues to change the planet we live on.”

The meanings behind each of the pieces relate to the fragility of life on Earth and the complexities of the natural world around us. “The Automatic Earth” was composed in 2019 after being commissioned by a consortium of ensembles including SDSU. It is meant to address “ongoing climate catastrophe and evoke the psychological effect of the impending disruptive change to our entire way of living on the planet, even under a best-case scenario,” according to composer Steven Bryant.

“I'm looking forward to carrying out the message of The Coming Storm," said Nicole Shue, a junior majoring in Violin Performance. “The coming storm doesn't just signify climate change, but also a vision of unrest and a search for resolution in the world that we live in today.”

The concert will be held at  3 p.m. on Sunday, December 15 in Patrick Henry High School’s PHAME Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale now.