University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
IN-24: Innovation A

Description: This series of sustainability-themed programs, which run throughout the academic year and in different campus venues, celebrates ecological music and arts. It culminates during the spring semester with all-ages live music festival featuring original instruments made from found and repurposed materials. Events past and current include Nov. 12, 2015, concert featuring composer, sculptor, and educator Douglas R. Ewart, who makes instruments using found materials; a Feb. 18, 2016, concert with Tom Nunn, who builds original musical instruments using recycled and repurposed materials; an April 16, 2016, festival featuring hybrid musical instrument sculptor Ken Butler (whose work was on display in April-May 2016); an Oct. 20, 2016, concert featuring Eric Leonardson, who performs with the Springboard, an instrument he built to exp lore the sonic potential of coil springs and other materials; an April 20, 2017, concert featuring instrument builder/designer Cooper-Moore’s handcrafted instruments constructed from found and repurposed materials; and an April 22, 2017, Earth Day festival. Outcomes: Not only do the concerts and artists help educate the community on the possibility of more sustainable music, but the festival each spring is accompanied by an information fair providing greater visibility of local projects, programs, and organizations working toward a sustainable future.