Music for the Ocean is an immersive concert experience that reimagines classical music. Created by Emmy-nominated composer and violinist Chad Cannon, the performance combines virtuosic live music, animation, cinematic imagery, sound design, and theatrical lighting to create a multisensory journey through the ocean. The centerpiece is Cannon’s original music, performed live by Cannon on violin and internationally acclaimed pianist Hui Wu. The compositions explore the extraordinary diversity of the ocean—from the mysterious sounds of the deep sea and the luminous world of bioluminescent creatures to the intricate relationships among coral reef animals. Cannon often composes directly from encounters with marine life, translating the movement, behavior, sounds, and emotional character of ocean creatures into musical language. In The Call of the Reef, for example, recordings of snapping shrimp collected by marine scientists become part of the musical landscape. Other works are inspired by eels, tuna, coral reefs, and the amazing creatures of the deep.
The music is brought to life visually by Emmy-winning animator Timothy Rauch, whose credits include StoryCorps: The Animated Series and the Emmy-winning We the People. His animations transform Cannon’s compositions into vivid underwater worlds, with marine creatures moving in visual conversation with the music. William Chen, an Emmy-nominated audio engineer and sound designer with credits including Encanto and She-Hulk, shapes the concert’s sonic environment, while Evan Murnane, longtime lighting director for Camerata Pacifica, uses theatrical lighting to make light another expressive element of the performance.
Hui Wu is an internationally acclaimed pianist celebrated for her virtuosity, expressive range, and adventurous approach to contemporary music. Chad Cannon is an Emmy-nominated composer-violinist whose work spans concert music, documentary film, television, and animation, including the Oscar-winning documentary American Factory. Together, they create a performance that bridges the worlds of classical music, cinematic composition, and contemporary multimedia art.
For the St. Louis performance, Cannon and Wu will be joined by the world-renowned Arianna String Quartet, John McGrosso and Corinne Stillwell, violins; Joanna Mendoza, viola; and Kurt Baldwin, cello. Formed in 1992, the Arianna Quartet has performed internationally and is recognized for its tonal warmth, expressive vitality, and technical virtuosity. Its members are also full-time UMSL faculty, combining an international performing career with teaching and extensive interdisciplinary educational outreach.
The St. Louis concert is presented in support of Tela Coral, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to protect the unusually resilient “Rebel Reef” of Tela, Honduras. Tela’s reefs harbor rare and critically endangered coral species and have remained remarkably healthy despite the pressures that have devastated reefs elsewhere. This concert directly supports efforts to establish a coral genetic bank and the first marine biology laboratory on the Honduran mainland.
The performance is also supported by the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, an internationally recognized center advancing research, education, and public engagement in ecology and biodiversity conservation. Working in partnership with the Missouri Botanical Garden and Saint Louis Zoo, the Harris Center supports ecological research and trains students to address conservation challenges around the world.
VIP tickets include 1 signed book and have a designated seating area!
Students are eligible for a $20 ticket! Contact the Touhill Ticket Office to purchase.
UMSL Faculty/Staff are eligible for a $30 ticket! Contact the Touhill Ticket Office to purchase.
***This performance uses flashing lights and amplified sound.
Touhill Ticket Office:
(314)516-4949
[email protected]
M/W/F: 10am - 6pm