‘HomeCare’ Fuses Choral Music with Climate Action

Caltech is at the forefront of numerous scientific innovations and engineering triumphs. But does the university offer anything at the intersection of climate change and choral music?

Remarkably, yes.

On November 16th, Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium will host HomeCare, a concert that merges music and environmental advocacy under the direction of Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake.

Performed by his acclaimed choir Tonality, HomeCare merges choral artistry and spoken word with an urgent message on climate change. The concert is part of Caltech’s “Opening Doors” series, an initiative designed to create conversations at the intersection of art, science, and social responsibility.

Blake, a dynamic force in choral music and social justice, founded Tonality with a mission to give voice to issues that deeply impact communities nationwide. Blake’s acclaimed arrangement of Wade in the Water and collaborations on major film soundtracks like Us (2019) and The Lion King (2019) have established him as a versatile and influential voice in contemporary choral music.

While maintaining their social justice values, Tonality’s musical performances are known for their rich harmonies and diverse repertoire, blending genres and cultural influences to create an immersive and emotive choral experience. With 24 singers and five instrumentalists, Tonality has been performing live concerts and recording studio albums since its creation in 2016. The choir has gained national recognition, including a Grammy nomination and the 2020 Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, for its innovative approach to using music as a medium for empathy and activism.

At the Pasadena debut, HomeCare will highlight how communities can come together to protect the environment and care for their home. For Blake, connecting audiences to these personal accounts is crucial, as he believes genuine change comes from empathy.

A man looking at the camera — Alexander Lloyd Blake rehearses Tonality for the HomeCare concert at Beckman Auditorium.

“It’s in that empathy—and sometimes discomfort—that we are encouraged to move,” Blake explained.

The idea for HomeCare emerged from within Tonality itself, as Blake invited choir members to share which worldly issues felt most pressing to them. After listening to stories of fellow singers who had experienced the devastation of wildfires and hurricanes, Blake decided to move forward with a concert that would address the climate crisis.

“Hearing singers talk about houses burning in their neighborhood” solidified his vision for a concert that would blend personal experience with wider environmental advocacy. Blake sees HomeCare as a way to craft relatable activist art that not only engages audiences on an emotional level but also inspires them to pursue change.

HomeCare will feature a moderated discussion following the concert, inviting Caltech’s science-oriented community and the wider audience to dive into the topic of climate action. Blake sees this post-performance dialogue as an opportunity to discuss both individual and systemic solutions to environmental challenges.

“Yes, you can use one less plastic straw, but we need to look at bigger laws and systemic changes,” he said.

Blake hopes that the concert will catalyze broader conversations on sustainability and environmental responsibility, particularly within a city like Pasadena, which has a long history of scientific advancement and ecological advocacy.

Some of the regional and global environmental initiatives include nonprofits like Citizens’ Climate Lobby and The Pasadena Sierra Club, and institutions like Caltech’s Environmental Engineering department and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. The city itself has set ambitious sustainability goals, such as cutting carbon emissions in half by 2035.

Pasadena’s commitment to environmental action makes it an ideal setting for HomeCare. With local nonprofits, scientific institutions, and the city’s own sustainability goals working toward climate solutions, the concert aligns with the community’s values and amplifies the call for environmental responsibility.

HomeCare promises a unique blend of artistic expression and social advocacy, transforming a concert into a communal call to action. With its emphasis on environmental justice and its emotionally resonant performance, the concert seeks to inspire audiences to confront the climate crisis with renewed purpose and empathy.