My experience of nature, community and music are all woven into one fabric. My music springs from observations, experience and perceived connections with our natural world and the beings who inhabit it.

All life, all of us and our planet are interconnected and entirely interdependent. From the smallest pebble, lichen or salamander to our largest forests, rivers and oceans, we are made of the same miraculous matter. Whether we acknowledge it or not, our actions, in-actions and way of living on the earth have profound repercussions for good or for ill.

From this awareness I am using my time and energy to do my part to create and sustain beauty, both the beauty of our musical world and the beauty of our natural world.

It is up to each of us to take responsibility for our part in cherishing, protecting and restoring our communities and our environment.

My work as Composer-in-Residence with Columbia Riverkeeper is central to how I take responsibility to connect to our natural environment as an artist and a member of the community of the Pacific Northwest.

– Deena T. Grossman, composer