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- Malheur Symphony (Movement 5) - "Awakening"
Malheur Symphony (Movement 5) - "Awakening"
Malheur Symphony is a five-movement orchestral work that blends symphonic music with pre-recorded soundscapes from Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Commissioned in response to the 2016 armed occupation of the refuge, the work was created as an act of healing—shifting the public’s focus away from political division and back toward shared beauty, reverence for nature, and common ground. Drawing on field recordings, transcribed bird calls, and layered rhythmic patterns inspired by wildlife and seasonal cycles, the symphony paints a sonic portrait of Malheur’s history, people, and ecology—from its geologic formation and the stories of the Northern Paiute Tribe, to its vibrant birdlife and a hopeful fanfare for the future. Malheur Symphony is a celebration of place and a reminder of the arts’ power to unite, offering a musical refuge in a time of division.