Orchestra Brings Endangered Species Back to Life in Hawaii

Imagine flocks of passenger pigeons so thick they blocked out the sun like storm clouds. That's the world composer Stephanie Ann Boyd wants you to experience through music.

Her new work, Carnival of the Nearly Extinct Animals, opens September 18 at Honolulu's historic Hawaii Theatre. The production blends orchestra, hand-crafted puppets, ballet, and poetry to honor species facing extinction.

Boyd designed 14 musical movements celebrating 13 animals, from tigers to polar bears to tiny Hawaiian kāhuli snails. Each creature gets its own voice through the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra.

The tiger roars through cellos and basses, then softens to a chuff on harp strings. Floating violins become bees and butterflies drifting through air. Separately muted trumpets sing the last recorded song of an ivory-billed woodpecker while cellos tap out pecking rhythms on their wooden bodies.

Boyd modeled her piece after Carnival of the Animals, written by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns in the 1880s. Both works share the same length and number of movements, connecting past and present through music.

Obie Award-winning puppeteer Greg Corbino built dozens of animals by hand for the production. Ballet Hawaii dancers bring them to life alongside guest artists from New York. Hawaiian actor Moses Goods narrates with poems written by local students.

Two species in the show offer special hope. Gray wolves and American buffalo both clawed back from near extinction. Their movements transform from mournful howls into celebration.

The kāhuli snail carries particular meaning for Hawaii. These tiny creatures once covered island trees so thickly their shells created an eerie forest song, possibly from wind swirling through them or shells bumping together. Now up to 90% of Hawaii's 750 land snail species have disappeared.

Why This Inspires

This production does something remarkable. It takes the heavy topic of extinction and transforms it into something beautiful that moves people to care. Young students contributed poems. Local dancers and musicians came together. An entire community united around protecting what remains.

The show proves that art can reach hearts in ways statistics never could. When you hear a cello sing a snail's lost forest song, you feel what's been lost and what's worth saving.

Ocean Music Action and Hawaii Theatre Center brought this vision to life, creating an experience that educates while it inspires. The performance reminds us that some species have come back from the brink, and more can follow.