THE MUSIC FOR THE PLANET FOUNDATION
Our most important duty as humans is to preserve and nurture our environment. Our most valuable function as individuals is educating younger generations. A new project dedicated to sustaining the land and oceans of the Galapagos will reflect these two fundamental principles.
The Music for the Planet Foundation, which I founded, based in the Galapagos and approved by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador in July 2023 and with 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. is launching a new learning center to integrate music education with environmental science and the humanities.
The Music for the Planet Foundation was inspired by a concert held in the Galapagos in the summer of 2019. The National Geographic had produced the movie “Jane” centered around the life of the great primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall. The National Geographic partnered with Philip Glass, the foremost American composer of the past fifty years, and commissioned him to compose the soundtrack for “Jane”. I was asked to conduct the soundtrack live, giving ”Jane” its South American premiere. The audience response was overwhelming. The event was the largest known human gathering in the history of the Galapagos.
Through the Music for the Planet Foundation, I seek to make a contribution by offering a different approach to musical education, combined with sciences and humanities. This merger of disciplines will enable students to better interact with the environment, to preserve the planet and its resources, and eventually to become leaders of a new approach to arts, society, and conservation of our planet.
The Music for the Planet Foundation seeks to enhance the individual’s understanding of the musical arts by joining instruction on musical analysis, music history, and interpretation with introduction to sciences, humanities, law, and environmental studies on oceans and lands. Principles of math, logic, and history of sciences will prepare students to utilize rational tools for analysis and problem-solving. The history of philosophy, psychology, and literature will give pupils a broad view of our world culture. Importantly, students will also receive instruction on protection of the oceans, wildlife, fauna and flora, the atmosphere, and climate challenges. 
The Galápagos provide the ideal setting for a unique social experiment: to unite arts and humanities with environmental sciences–applying a new model for teaching young people by fostering creativity, practicing collaboration, applying rigorous scientific analysis, and living with the conviction that our planet is a live organism that needs to be nurtured and protected by humanity.
The Music for the Planet Foundation operates with full legal recognition in Ecuador and the United States. It is approved by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador (July 2023), registered in the Galapagos Special Legal Regime, and recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States (EIN: 33-7025642).
Help us bring music and science education to students in the Galápagos. To support the launch of this first-of-its-kind program, contact us at [email protected].
