The pieces selected here all involve 3 or more singers. Difficulty levels vary from straightforward tonal works for amateurs, up to professional level. For additional choral repertoire, particularly for amateur singers, visit choirsforclimate.com.
These works are intended for stand-alone choral performances: click here for our list of staged and operatic works.
John Luther Adams - Become Desert (very large orchestra and choir: 4444/8440/4perc+2chm+Handbells[vib]+crotales/4hp/str(min.24.0.12.12.8) + SATB choir). Listen on YouTube, and view full score and buying/ordering links at WiseMusicClassical. I’ve pondered from a new perspective the melting of the polar ice and the rising of the seas. And now I’m considering more deeply Chateaubriand’s observation: “Forests precede civilizations, and deserts follow…”
Gerda Blok Wilson - A Dried Up River (SATB, minimum 3 singers per part). Hear a recording, view a sample score and order at Cypress Choral. The piece uses accessible melodies interwoven with elements such as body percussion, text painting, wind sounds, and rhythmic patterns; it not only mirrors local landscapes but also speaks to the broader ecological challenges facing our planet.
Bob Chilcott - The Angry Planet (large children's choir, SATB chamber choir & SATB double choir). View a perusal score; purchase (£13.75/copy) or hear audio samples at OUP. c.45 minutes long. The choirs sing of humanity's negligence towards nature in a series of dream images, while the endearing and innocent tunes of the children's choir ultimately evoke a sense of hope for the future.
various composers, Choirs for Ecocide Law (available for unison, flexible 2-part, or SATB choir with piano - other instruments optional). Find out more, view samples, and order scores (free) at stopecocide.earth. Choirs for Ecocide Law's main purpose is to spread awareness about the need to make large-scale environmental destruction (ecocide) an international crime; it provides a sixty minute concert program, “Let us change the rules!”, ready to be rehearsed and performed by your choir – for free. The scores package includes popular music made by composers from different cultures, along with guidelines for an interactive rehearsal process, and with a script for bringing the concert storyline to stage.
Sally J Davies - Restore Our Earth (three equal voices or 3-part choir). Hear a recording on YouTube sung by the composer and hear daughters; contact the family directly to request a score. "Restore our Earth, restore our sea, renew; it's the only one we've got."
Stanley Grill - The Whirr of Wings (SATB choir, flute, viola and cello). Download a score and parts at Stanley's website (free, donations appreciated). Sets poems by various poets related to both the beauty of the earth and what will inevitably happen if we ignore our obligation to act as caretakers rather than destroyers of the life around us.
Frank Horvat - I Am Ice (SATB). Hear a recording and order sheet music ($3CA per copy) at Frank's website. A passionate lament in which something typically wordless, ice, tells us of their challenges; a setting of Leonor Anthony‘s poem on the idea of ice having feelings and facing its mortality.
Chris Hutchings - Let Them Not Say (SSAATTBB): watch a virtual choir performance on YouTube, and download the score (Creative Commons licensed). An angry and difficult piece about human inaction in the face of the climate crisis, setting words by California poet Jane Hirshfield.
Chris Hutchings - Send Lazarus (SATB or ATBarB): watch a video of a concert performance, and download the score (Creative Commons licensed). Based on the story of the rich man and poor man in the gospel of Luke, reworked by American poet David Ervin into a climate change parable. Would also suit a church service or sacred occasion.
Karen McAulay - Not Like Noah (SATB and piano): Hear a recording and download a sample score. For full lyrics, visit Karen McAulay’s site: to order a copy, contact Karen via her site. This is an evocation of rising sea levels and features some very expressive howling wind sounds for sopranos, with the lyrics also featuring the names of British and Irish hurricanes from 2024.
Anselm McDonnell - Tearing as it is Woven (SSAATTBB). Hear a recording, view full text and more details, and contact the composer to request scores (£3/copy). Sets text by Scottish poet Euan Tait, which uses apocalyptic and flood imagery to depict a devastated future where most of the earth is submerged under water.
Cecilia McDowall - The Ice Is Listening (soprano solo, SATB, and piano or chamber orchestra). More details and score at OUP's website (£10.75/copy). The text for the second movement, "The ice is listening", takes as its starting point a quote from the climate scientist Josh Willis—When the ocean speaks, the Greenland Ice Sheet listens—and explores the impending loss of this ice sheet, paying close attention to the extraordinary amount of history locked in the deepest ice here that will so swiftly vanish into air.
Sarah McMahill - Tears of May (SSAATTBB and cor anglais / English horn). Listen to a recording and view a score at Sarah's website."Tears of May" is a poem by Andrew Burton in response to the destructive wildfires that swept across Canada during the summer of 2023. The English horn lends to the poignancy and grief over the loss of nature. This song also asks the question of how nature perceives us.
Innocent Okechukwu - Save the Earth (SATB, piano and cello). Listen to a demo recording on YouTube; contact the composer directly to request scores (free, donations welcome). This piece is set to raise awareness of global warming, reminding us that we are responsible for making the world a better place through our actions and inactions. It is a cry for help; let's help save the world and make it habitable for all of us and those to come after us.
Karine Polwart and Heather MacLeod - Enough is Enough (SSAATB choir a cappella and soloists, but also available in many other arrangements including 2-part choir with piano and 3-part choir with piano). Watch a video and download scores (Creative Commons licensed). Composed to invite choirs, community ensembles, musicians, schools and anyone else to add their voice as Glasgow prepared to host the 26th UN Global Climate Summit - adding to the growing international call for radical action on climate change and climate justice.
Philip Seaton - A Christmas Carol (SATB and organ). Hear a recording and download the score (free) on Philip's website. Tells the story of a present-day Scrooge, who in one section of the piece is taken to a submerged London following environmental breakdown by the Ghost of Christmas Future. The piece is a collection of “themes and variations” on public domain Christmas carols, interspersed with narrations from Dickens’ novel.
Sandy Sherman and Randall Rumage - One By One (SATB choir and piano). Hear a recording and view or order the score (free) at choirsforclimate.com. A moving environmental song focusing on a call for action to create a better world. It should be suitable for choirs from high school level upwards.
Dylan Tran - COLOR ALL MAPS NEW (SATB choir with divisi and baritone (or mezzo) soloist). Hear a recording with score on YouTube: contact composer to order a score (priced on a sliding scale). In just the last century, Louisiana has lost over 4,833 square kilometers of land to coastal erosion, exposing the region to increased risks of hurricanes, floods, and storm surges. COLOR ALL MAPS NEW tells the story of a family in south Louisiana and their experience of coastal erosion. The parents recall places they once played as children, now lost to the waters, and mourn the chance to share those memories with their own children. One movement reflects on a Native American reservation now submerged beneath the tide— a powerful reminder of heritage and loss. A portion of all royalties from COLOR ALL MAPS NEW will be donated to coastal restoration funds and Indigenous tribes in coastal Louisiana, in perpetuity.
Louis Armstrong (arr. Mark De-Lisser) - What A Wonderful World (SAATB and piano). Hear recordings and download scores, backing tracks and more. For COP26 in 2021, Music Declares Emergency asked choirs across the nation to perform the iconic Louis Armstrong song ‘What A Wonderful World’ arranged by acclaimed choir leader Mark De-Lisser: the score is still free to download.
Chris Hutchings - Animals (2-part upper voices and piano): hear a recording, and download the score (Creative Commons licensed). A song about biodiversity and how humans are destroying it, but with an optional hopeful ending. Words by English poet Brian Bilston. Ideal for children's choirs but will also suit adult voices.
David Rain - A Hymn to Biodiversity (SATB with divisi). Hear a recording and order scores at David's website. Farmers, seed-saving farmers, have been humanity's ingenious plant breeders and nurturers of biodiversity from time immemorial. Their role is becoming more and more important during climate and ecological crises. This song honours their role and also presents a musical challenge to the use of GMOs.
If you have a piece you'd like to add to this list, please fill in the submission form.
