Great Ocean of Music

May 3, 2025 7:00 p.m
Übersee-Museum, Bremen

A promenade concert in the reopened Oceania exhibition of the Überseemuseum Bremen

In congruence with the new exhibition opening at the Übersee-Museum, we are highlighting the Blue Continent – ​​the Pacific – with music and lectures in a promenade concert. What role does the ocean play in the global climate, what research projects are underway, and what does the Pacific actually sound like?

The audience strolls freely amongst nine stations within the museum and experiences the intriguing combination of scientific expertise and dream-like music. At the musical stations, you can expect unusual ensembles with marimbas and didgeridoos, as well as classical chamber music ensembles with music from Pacific regions such as Oceania, New Zealand, North and South America, and Asia. To conclude, the musicians will play Terry Riley's "in C," from the early days of minimal music. Following this, you can hear the museum's own gamelan with the ensemble Arum-Sih. The gamelan ensemble will perform this evening in cooperation with the Bremen Philharmonic's Music Workshop.

At the remaining three stations, you can hear lecturess from researchers and climate specialists:

Dr. Annette Breckwoldt is an interdisciplinary marine scientist. She works at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and will take you to Oceania, to Fiji and New Caledonia, with many photos and impressions. Her recently launched second research project, 'SOCPacific' ("A Sea of ​​Connections"), focuses on reef passages as key socio-ecological sites and communication zones. How can indigenous and academic knowledge be interwoven to conserve marine biodiversity and use it sustainably?

Dr. Klaus Grosfeld is a climate scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute and Managing Director of the Helmholtz Research Alliance "Regional Climate Change and Humanity (REKLIM)." He will shed light on the incredibly diverse and important role the Pacific plays for our planet and for us humans, particularly in relation to global climate events, as an important trade route, and for the preservation of biodiversity.

Dr. Marleen Stuhr is a marine scientist at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen. In her lecture, "From Reef to Beach – Carbonate Production, Sediments, and Tropical Coasts in Transition," she will discuss the impacts of human influences on the central functions of the coral reef ecosystem—such as coastal protection or island formation—and how they can alter tropical coasts.