Trees speak. Water sings. A storm gathers. And somewhere beyond it, the air clears.

Inspired by the abundant nature and breathtaking landscapes that surround Olympia, CONNECT listens to the living world through trees, water, weather, memory, and renewal. This is not nature as background scenery. This is nature as presence, as motion, as something that speaks when we slow down enough to hear it.

Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht, or Every Tree Speaks, opens the concert in conversation with Beethoven. Written as a response to Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the work listens to the natural world through a present-day lens, where beauty and fragility exist side by side. The piece’s direct connection to Beethoven makes its place beside the Pastoral Symphony feel less like a pairing and more like a conversation across centuries.

Then, water takes center stage. In Tan Dun’s words, “Water is an element you can’t block. You can block land…but water has no such frontiers.” In the Water Concerto, percussionist Svet Stoyanov turns that idea into something you can see and hear. Bowls, basins, splashes, ripples, and touch become sound, creating music that feels heard and seen at the same time

Sun. Mar. 21, 2027 | 3:00pm | Capital High School Performing Arts Center

Alexandra Arrieche | Music Director

Svet Stoyanov | percussion Program

Iman HABIBI: Jeder Baum spricht (Every Tree Speaks)

Tan DUN: Water Concerto

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”