Oceanophony: A Tale of Sea Life (2002)

Music by Bruce Adolphe
Poetry narration by Kate Light
The Colorado Chamber Players will perform free educational outreach concerts at the following locations in
March and April 2005:
Friday March 11, 1 and 2 p.m., Carson Elementary School, Denver
Friday March 18, 12 and 1 p.m., North Middle School, Aurora
Thursday March 31, 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., Broomfield Heights Middle School, Broomfield
Friday April 8, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m., Pine Lane Intermediate School, Parker


Oceanophony is a chamber piece about sea life. The piece is scored for violin, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, percussion and narrator, and is accompanied by slides of sea animals.

Oceanophony consists of music by Bruce Adolphe, text and poems by Kate Light, and slides by the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, California. The work was premiered at the Birch Aquarium as part of the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival in summer 2003. The titles of the Movements for Oceanophony are:
Marine Snow, Puffer Fish, Reef Story (poem), Coral Music, Stoplight Parrotfish, Parrotfish Lullaby, Octopus Octet, Cleaning Station, Seahorse Greeting Dance, Sarcastic Fringehead Fish.

Note by Bruce Adolphe, composer, about Oceanophony:
“In the summer of 2001, I enjoyed a visit to the La Jolla Aquarium with my family. It was during a staring contest with a sea horse that it occurred to me there should be a piece of music that celebrates and investigates La Jolla’s special contributions to oceanography. After all, La Jolla is home to not only the remarkable aquarium, but also the world-renowned Scripps Institute of Oceanography. And right there in the ocean, there is a huge population of fish who have no opportunity to participate in one of the world’s great music festivals, which just happens to be in their community. It was time, I figured, for SummerFest to reach out to oceanographers, marine biologists, sea horses, octopi, and other local life forms. The idea for the piece Oceanophony was born.”

“Feeling that Oceanophony needed poetry to tell the story, I called Kate Light, a poet and violinist whose verses have the intelligence, humor, sensitivity, and craft that could do the job. Our first task was to determine which ocean creatures to portray in music. Kate and I immediately began investigating, using books, films, the Internet, and by calling the Scripps Institute for advice. In the midst of researching the project, Kate was dangerously close to becoming a marine biologist, and I felt that if we portrayed in poems and music all the creatures that really interested us, Oceanophony would be seven hours long. Finally, we found that some creatures inspired music more than others, and that was an important determinate in making the final selection of fish and ocean phenomena. One fish came to my attention because of a conversation with the violinist Mark Steinberg, who, when I told him about the Oceanophony project, immediately said, ‘You have to use my favorite fish – the Sarcastic Fringehead!’ Kate and I found the oddly named fish irresistible, and it inspired the finale.”

“Oceanophony was given an auspicious premiere at the Birch Aquarium of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, on the occasion of the institute’s 100th anniversary. After inspiring speeches by Scripps executives, Oceanophony was performed in a space tightly packed with people of all ages, with a large tank of sardines appropriately on view. Oceanophony joins a growing body of work that I am composing to bring music together with subjects that fascinate kids, families, and teachers – from dinosaurs and seahorses to Shakespeare and great artists such as Paul Gauguin.”