A new radio series that looks at how Irish composers are responding to the climate crisis in their music will be produced this spring for broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM.

Titled We Only Want the Earth, the two-part series will be produced by the Contemporary Music Centre (CMC) in association with Athena Media and broadcast in February 2024. Among the composers to be featured are Nick Roth, Karen Power, Finola Merivale, Jennifer Walshe, Judith Ring, Sebastian Adams, Jürgen Simpson and Ian Wilson.

The series has been funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) under a dedicated Climate Change and Climate Action Round of the Sound and Vision Scheme. We Only Want the Earth is one of 25 funded projects. Other projects include Off Track: Manchán Magan’s European Railway Adventure, which explores slow travel, and The End of the World with Beanz, in which Martin Beanz Warde will explore extreme climate disasters.

We Only Want the Earth will explore questions such as whether music can inspire personal ownership and build collective action in reducing our carbon footprint, and if story, sound and music can motivate us beyond the daily headlines.

Commenting on the series, Jonathan Grimes of the CMC said:

I’m really delighted that the BAI and RTÉ lyric fm are supporting this series and I look forward to this important journey of musical and ecological discovery. Climate change is not only a scientific and political issue, it is also a deeply personal and artistic one. By creating a radio series that showcases some of the Irish composers who are dealing with issues related to climate change, we can give voice to their creative responses and inspire others to engage with the issue in their own ways.

As well as the episodes for Lyric, there will be additional associated content in CMC’s regular podcast Amplify. 

For more, visit www.bai.ie and www.cmc.ie.