De Meij conducting the OBO orchestra and OVE choir in Naters, Switzerland.
ABOUT THE FILM
Film is now a regular part of almost every major orchestra’s programming. World-class symphonies play soundtracks with films like Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and Hitchcock oldies. It has broadened their audiences as was intended.
And yet.
Isn’t the role of music to expand our collective minds and imaginations? To stretch and advance our understanding of what it means to be human?
Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth contains an ode to Mother Earth (Gaia in Greek) borrowed from a Greek hymn by Homer written 3,000 years ago. Sung by a choir in the original language, the verse asks us to honor the planet that takes care of us.
A symbolic Gaia, cast as a dancer, becomes the film’s protagonist and narrator. She dances the story of our past and present with a glimpse of a possible future. Unlike many environmental films, ours is infused with something others lack: Hope. It’s positivity audiences are longing for in these uncertain times. The film’s message, like the music, is both uplifting and emotionally charged.
we are offering the film for free to your orchestra when they perform Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth.
Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth was written at the request of Marcel Mandos, artistic director of the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (NNO). It was premiered and recorded by the orchestra and the North Netherlands Concert Choir conducted by Otto Tausk at Rotterdam’s De Doelen concert hall, March 2, 2006. (CD: Amstel Classics 2006-01).
A winner of the International Composition Competition, Corciano (Italy), it has been performed hundreds of times by orchestras across five continents.
The audiences grew for Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth. Meanwhile, we felt compelled to create a film for the music to attract new classical music audiences and amplify the symphony’s planet- protecting message.
“De Meij’s Planet Earth Symphony is music for our times. The film gives the gorgeous orchestral score a completely new dimension. It shows the beauty of our planet, it is a wake-up call and it ends in hope. The interaction between music and film make Planet Earth into an intense and unforgettable experience.”
Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Tilburg, Music Journalist