Reflecting on Three Years of the Climate Funk! Music Programme
For the past two and bit years, I have had the absolute privilege of being part of an incredible schools programme across south Birmingham. Centred around climate change and the environment, this journey has been an unforgettable fusion of science, music, and youth empowerment.
The project, called Climate Funk!, was delivered by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) in partnership with the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) at the University of Birmingham, and was kindly funded by the JABBS Foundation.
I worked as the composer alongside workshop leader Claire Henry, 10 CBSO musicians, climate change scientists Professor Jerry Pritchard and Dr Samantha Dobbie, and choral conductor David Lawrence. It has been a rare privilege to work with the exact same school children for such a prolonged period as well as the orchestral musicians. Most importantly, we worked with the amazing pupils from three local schools: Water Mill, Cotteridge, and St Jude’s. Here is the story of how we turned scientific data into a powerful musical performance.
Year 1: Finding Our Place in Nature (2024)
Climate Funk! officially launched on 11 January 2024. Year 4 pupils from all three schools came together for an exciting visit to the University of Birmingham. The children learned how trees store memories in their genes and how environmental changes threaten their survival.
Musically, this first year focused on the young people’s relationship to nature. The children wrote independent pieces about their favourite places in Birmingham, channeling their local pride into their very first creative compositions.
Year 2: Deepening the Science (Late 2024 to Early 2025)
In October 2024, the pupils entered Year 5 and welcomed Dr Samantha Dobbie and Claire Henry back to their classrooms for a hands-on science workshop. They even extracted DNA from a pea! This experiment deepened their understanding of plant biology and climate change. It was great working with the scientists throughout this project, checking in with them to ensure the music and the facts aligned perfectly.
With their scientific knowledge strengthened, the pupils worked with Claire, the CBSO musicians, and me to write more music. Together, the three schools created a collaborative piece telling the story of how trees can switch off their genes to survive extreme weather, called ‘Cold Place’ all about tree trauma and their resilience!
Throughout the Spring 2025 term, I finalised these compositions. The second year music was much more experimental, using minimalist processes of subtraction. We pushed the musicians and children to sing in asymmetrical metres like 5/4 and constantly shifting metrics, while keeping the core music grounded. By the summer term, the children had several vocal workshops with choral conductor David Lawrence. To wrap up this brilliant second year, the schools returned to the University of Birmingham for further scientific exploration, marking the first time all three schools had united on campus to celebrate their progress, singing their year one anthems.
Year 3: The Experimental Climitata (September 2025 to Spring 2026)
In September 2025, the pupils entered Year 6, kicking off their third and final year of the project. They received their final round of creative workshops with Claire, me and the CBSO musicians, and each school also received vocal workshops from David Lawrence
The goal was to structure quite disparate elements together, and I decided to involve the young people directly in the process. Normally I joined the workshops towards the very end, but this year I asked to join right at the start because I wanted to involve them in piecing the music together. I asked the young people about their understanding of musical structure. I spoke about its importance to composers and told them that I needed their help creating a macro structure.
The children stepped up beautifully, we arranged the existing songs, thought about transitions and the new material we needed to create. We chose to tell our musical tale through their roles as saplings, experiencing tree trauma and releasing the chemical CH3 to adapt, before ultimately confronting a young human to express their deep concerns about climate change. What we collectively created was great and turned into a climate change themed cantata or mini opera. One of the musicians brilliantly called it a ‘climitata’.
During the Spring 2026 term, I took their creative ideas and transformed them into the final compositions. While I was busy composing, I kept thinking about wanting to share our important climate change message with the rest of the school communities.
The Grand Finale: Symphony Hall (Summer 2026)
The project reached its peak in the Summer 2026 term. The Year 6 pupils reunited for intensive vocal workshops with David Lawrence to learn and perfect their final programme.
Everything culminated in an unforgettable celebration on Friday 12 June 2026. The pupils stepped onto the world famous stage at Symphony Hall, performing alongside their 10 piece CBSO ensemble of collaborators, now experiencing what these musicians do best, as their backing band. It was a completely free, celebratory concert open to families and the school community.
The final performance was an absolute success with standing ovations and lots of tears. Looking back over these three years, Climate Funk! proved that when you mix the urgency of climate science with the boundless creativity of young people, you get something truly fabulous.
Warm thanks to the CBSO team Tom Spurgin, Carolyn Barton, Georgia Wells, and Katie Lucas (previous head of Head of Learning & Engagement)for putting this together. Also massive big ups to choir master David Lawrence for endless support and supporting the children to create a wonderful performance. The future of our planet, and our music, is in bright hands.