THE FIVE SEASONS OF TOMORROW: A CLIMATE CHANGE MULTISENSORY VIOLIN CONCERTO by Tim Fain
In the coming age of climate destabilization, what will the ‘seasons’ of tomorrow sound like?
The Five Seasons of Tomorrow for violin and orchestra with immersive multisensory experience, is both a celebration of the natural world, and a call to action for the immense challenges humanity faces in the coming decades from man-made climate change. The piece asks the question “what will the ‘seasons’ of tomorrow sound like?” The first experience of its kind, this new work will utilize new technologies and multisensory projections of visual media, intertwined with climate data, weather pattern forecasting, and astronaut commentary. A completely new symphonic concert experience, it will draw viewers deeply into the music through tech-driven immersion, where portions of the stage might “burst into flames,” or audiences could find themselves sitting amid a rain forest in the concert hall. Climate data culled from NASA weather stations, space-station film footage, and short films of NASA astronauts and others recounting life-changing tales from space, will punctuate the musical movements, opening peoples’ hearts and minds to the challenges we face around Earth’s changing climate and the future of humanity.
“It’s my hope that this work will amplify, warn about, and raise the profile of this increasingly urgent issue, while still celebrating nature in all of its glory.”
Always at the forefront of technology, violinist/composer Tim Fain has been dedicated to broadening and developing the experience of the “classical” concert in a new world, with a number of boundary-pushing projects. The Five Seasons of Tomorrow is a continuation of that work, which began with his widely-acclaimed Portals project, still touring the globe. He went on to collaborate with Google on a VR music video introducing directional sound capability for YouTube to the world (shown at The Sundance Film Festival), along with other collaborations with major tech partners including Samsung and META/VR for Good. Fain appeared at the Tower of David in a commission by Forbes and the city of Jerusalem premiering one of the first ever VR experiences synced with a live musical performance, also featured at SXSW; among many other projects.
Whether touring the world in a duo with Philip Glass, performing solo with the National Orchestra of Spain, San Francisco Symphony, or American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, composing/performing for film and visual media, performing his own violin concerto Edge of a Dream, or collaborating with artists ranging from Mitsuko Uchida to composer Meredith Monk, jazz pianist Billy Childs, Bryce Dessner, DJ Spooky, Iggy Pop, James Blake, or Christina Aguilera, Fain electrifies audiences. His wildly diverse career has taken him to unique spaces all across the globe, including on-stage at the NYC Ballet, The Vatican, and a performance for His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday.
“Violinist Tim Fain plays like a virtuoso and thinks like a cinematographer.”
-Vanity Fair
“A combination of power, precision and deeply expressive playing…”
-Gramophone (UK)
OTHER PROJECTS:
EDGE OF A DREAM
From a work Tim composed in 2020, here is Part III from Fain’s work Edge of a Dream (2020) for violin and orchestra.
“Edge Of A Dream is about holding on to hope in the face of great adversity. Looking back, I now realize that I needed to express this intense, and at times forceful yearning during the pandemic, to hold on to the hope of a better future. As I was composing this work, qualities of joy and even elation emerged in my writing, which seemed in stark contrast to the ever-present turmoil and uncertainty which I and so many others experienced during that time.”
Resonance (Google/YouTube)
Resonance, for which Tim composed the musical track, in collaboration with director Jessica Brillhart, then principal filmmaker at Google VR, was released to announce 360 interactive sound functionality on YouTube. It was the first VR experience to transport viewers literally inside a symphony orchestra in 360VR, taking them on a journey of inception, creation, and culmination via a series of evocative locations.