Melissa Dunphy

Other Arrangements

SATB choir, youth choir, piano, brass quintet, percussion

This work was commissioned by Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia (Dominick DiOrio, Artistic Director) in honor of its 150th Anniversary Season and was made possible thanks to the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Presser Foundation, and the following individuals: Robin Eaton, Drs. James Light and Lauren Maher, Carolyn Linarello, Jonathan Kochavi, Rebecca Roberts, Kyle Sheehan, and Stephen Ullman.

On the Horizon presents a groundbreaking musical exploration of climate change and our planet's future in a concert-length composition by acclaimed Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy. This powerful work, created in partnership with Commonwealth Youth Choir, gives voice to young people's perspectives on one of the most pressing issues of our time. Dunphy's composition weaves together a tapestry of sound, contrasting moments of anxiety and trauma with the joy and hope found in nature and human cooperation. The libretto, crafted from the words of participating youth, serves as both a poignant expression of their views and a resounding call to action.

Text

On the Horizon
By Melissa Dunphy, with the input of the singers of the Commonwealth Youthchoirs

1. Gather

Storm clouds gather on the horizon.
The wind blows thick and hot.
The air crackles.
Lightning strikes far away.
Thunder rumbles.
Our heads ache.
Our hearts break.
We watch and we wait,
and we fear what will come,
helpless, hopeless, powerless.
The ice melts.
The seas rise.
The light fades.
The pressure mounts.
So gather your people,
gather your things,
gather your knowledge,
gather your wits,
gather your courage,
gather your songs,
gather your bearings,
gather yourselves,
and hold onto trembling hands.
Breathe.
Wake up.
Batten down.
Look out.
Hold on.

2. Strange Days

We may not have been here very long
and we may not have traveled very far,
But we know we're living in strange days.
And when we look up, we can't see the stars.
Strange days, we're living in strange days.
The creekbed is dry all summer long,
and there's dust in the reservoir.
For days on end, we could smell the forest burning.
And when we look up, we can't see the stars.
It used to snow, but it doesn't now.
Every year, there's a new low bar.
It's eighty degrees in the middle of November.
And when we look up, we can't see the stars.
The other creatures are suffering,
And it hurts us to see their scars.
We care, and we want them to survive this too.
And when we look up, we can't see the stars.

3. A Trumpet Sounds

The storm breaks!
A trumpet sounds!
Hail and fire fall to the ground,
and everything green is burned.
A trumpet sounds.
the oceans churn and turn red,
and a flood sweeps a city into the sea.
A trumpet sounds,
fresh waters turn bitter.
How will we quench our thirst?
A trumpet sounds.
Darkness blankets the earth,
and nothing will grow.
Woe to the people.
A trumpet sounds,
Smoke rises and chokes the air.
Sickness and chaos abound.
A trumpet sounds,
Calling us to action
in a storm of our own creation.

4. Caretakers of Tomorrow

We can't change the past,
but we define the future.
Before we all were born,
seeds were sown.
When we plant a seed,
we know that when the tree grows,
we'll never sit in its shade,
or eat its fruit,
or smell its flowers.
But we do it because we love
people we will never meet.
We're the caretakers of tomorrow.
I want my children,
and everyone's children,
I want them to have what I have.
I want the next generation
and the next and the next,
to know our world.
I want them to live.
We never asked for this.
We didn't start it or cause it,
but we define the future
and we can't change the past.

5. Anger

Our best bet for changing our fate
is to reach all the people with the power to change it.
But some won't listen,
and some of them don't wanna help.
They say, "It won't affect me, so why should I care?"
They say, "It's not my problem," with their noses in the air.
They say, "I shouldn't have to deal with this,"
Or they refuse to believe us at all.
And that makes me angry.
So angry I can barely breathe.
So angry that it's hard to put into words.
A lot of people live in a bubble.
They're choosing to be selfish over ending our trouble.
Why don't they care?
What's more important than our lives?
I hear they're building rocket ships to beat a retreat.
I'm pretty sure that no-one here is getting a seat.
And on a new planet, how do we know
that we won't do the same thing again?
I'm seething, frustrated, irate, irritated,
you better watch out for my rage!
Maybe anger is better than denial.
Maybe it's better than apathy.
Maybe if I focus all my energetic bile,
I will move mountains,
we will move mountains,
Change what's on our horizon.
Don't wait around like frogs boiling in a pot,
'cause even frogs are noticing the water is hot.
We have to reach the people who'll help—
People who will fight for us and what we stand for,
people who are curious and wanna know more,
who know how we feel,
who want to make a better world.
We have the power to change our fate.
The powerful people we're looking for are right here.
We're right here.

6. The Beach

The hurricane made the water murky,
and the beach was covered in trash.
And nobody was there to clean it up
since we had no power, no light,
and going outside was dangerous.
But where I live, everyone is family.
We all know each other,
and call each other cousin.
So the word spread,
and people came to the beach to help.
We didn't need to be told what to do.
We decided as a community:
Hey, you know what? Let's just do it.
I remember that somebody had a stereo,
and they were playing songs, revolutionary songs,
songs that made us dance.
And we were all singing along,
and we were dancing while we cleaned the beach.
It's a very small island, but it's beautiful,
and we take care of it on our own.
There was a hurricane going on.
So we just had to let it happen
and then, you know,
try to do our best.

7. Disrupt the Loop

Consume.
Buy this.
Buy that.
Go shopping.
Spend money.
Drive that car.
Use this phone.
Get those shoes.
It'll make you feel better.
It'll give you status.
I need more stuff.
I want more money to get more stuff.
Rework the whole system.
The system itself is the problem.
Hold the powerful accountable.
Take responsibility for ourselves.
Accept our own guilt
and from there make changes.
It can feel uneasy
because it isn't easy,
but we have to rework the system,
and we have to hurry.
Disrupt the loop,
save what's left,
and make a better world.
Our true wealth is our wonderful planet
and the people who share it.
We should care about that,
because in the end,
you can't eat money.

8. It's Up to Us

This is our community.
This is our world.
It's all up to us.
People are creative,
And when we work together,
we get things done.
We find solutions.
Scientists, teachers, storytellers,
the old and the young,
we all have a part to play.
Change the culture.
It's already changing.
If more people help, it will change.
Even if you have it all,
think about the bigger picture.
Think past yourselves.
Everything we do has an effect,
even little things.
That's how we got into this mess.
We each have more power than we think we do.
The future won't look like the past or the present,
but we believe in the future.

9. The Horizon
Adapted from Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1917

With my eyes I traced the line
Of the horizon, thin and fine,
Straight around till I was come
Back to where I'd started from;
But, sure, the sky is big, I said;
Miles and miles above my head;
So here upon my back I'll lie
And look my fill into the sky.
I saw and heard, and knew at last
The How and Why of all things, past,
And present, and forevermore.
The Universe, cleft to the core,
The sin is ours.
The regret is ours.
The atonement is ours.
We struggle under the weight
Of greed and lust, of wrong and hate,
but remember what we're fighting for.
Spring up and hail the earth!
Wind your arms around
the trees and ground.
Raise your arms high
and laugh into the sky.
The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the hope and love shine through.
And those whose souls are flat—the sky
Will cave in on them by and by.

About the Artwork

Jonathan J. Wallace's On the Horizon, 2025 is a continuation and updated version of last year?s work to accompany Melissa Dunphy?s commissioned piece: On the Horizon. This artwork serves as a visual representation of the hopes, fears, chaos, and realities of the climate crisis ? and how it disproportionally affects the younger generations on this earth. The centerpiece, affectionately named ?The Burning Globe,? was created by gluing Individual pieces of paper that were cut from an abstract watercolor piece, and were then singed and layered into a connected, yet separated, circular shape. Surrounding this shape are physically altered words, written with washable markers, that were taken from the libretto of Dunphy?s piece (which were inspired by conversations she had with members of the Commonwealth Youth Choir).

Learn more about Jonathan J. Wallace here.

Artwork by Jonathan J. Wallace.