Campus life [2026-08-31]

Music from the end of the world

— Editors

The roar of  block of ice breaking  away from a melting glacier and the noise of rushing streams of water accompanied Tomasz Organek and his band during their intimate acoustic performance  which took place on Spitzbergen, one of the most unusual places  where a musical event has ever been organized. It was not a scenography. It was a living landscape of the Arctic, the same one which scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University have been observing and documenting for 50 years.

On 10 August, together with a group of scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the Organek band set off for Spitsbergen to tell the story of a place in which the consequences of occurring climate change are visible almost from day to day.  The project under the "Science. Music. The Arctic." slogan is aimed at making a documentary on research performed by the scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University on the Svalbard archipelago. To complement the project, Organek will release a new Spitsbergen - inspired  single and the climate changes taking place there.

Near a glacier, on a small island which was until relatively recently covered with ice, a video material for the band's new single was recorded. The musicians and the accompanying team were only the second group of people who reached a newly exposed piece of land.  For the Organek band, the expedition to Spitsbergen turned out to be something much more meaningful than just an extraordinary musical adventure. Contact with the Arctic, observing melting glaciers, and meeting scientists doing their research - these experiences prompted them to reflect on climate change, the role of art in the modern world, and the relation between man and nature.

The rate at which glaciers are melting is appalling, says Tomasz Organek.  We have seen it with our own eyes. We have performed on an Island which did not exist until recently. During performances, we usually receive feedback from the audience, but here, against all appearances, there was no silence. The noise of cracking ice or rushing streams of water from melting ice are impressive. It was shocking.

The organization of the musical performance in such an unusual surrounding required a completely different arrangement than a concert on a traditional stage.  The musicians had to limit the equipment to bare minimum and prepare a compact set of instruments which could be safely transported and used in the Arctic conditions. In a place completely devoid of infrastructure, using small power banks owing to which music could be heard was fundamental.

The whole performance is primarily a part of the story of that place. I perceive the concert as another piece of contribution that our band offers to the discussion on climate. I hope that our work will attract more attention to that problem, make people more interested.  I do not obviously feel we will change the world, but, as far as we are able to talk about it, we do our best to help. And that was the aim of our stay there, adds Organek.

The extraordinary musical event was recorded near the NCU Polar Research Centre which was established in 1975 on the Plain of Kaffiøyra. Over the past fifty years, it has been the research place for consecutive generations of scientists dealing with polar environment, those who were or are there to observe glaciers, snow cover, permafrost, meltwater as well as meteorological conditions. The continuity of the research allows comparing current data with those collected during previous polar expeditions.

Since the glaciers we have been studying were at its maximum extent, their area has shrunk by more than 50 per cent, emphasizes Dr hab. Ireneusz Sobota, Prof. NCU, Head of the NCU Polar Research Centre. With regard to ice melting and average temperature values, each subsequent year is a record one.  It can impact the global situation. The results of each change noticed here can be observed in other parts of the world. We provide a diagnosis, but there are no people willing to improve the condition.

For the musicians, meeting scientists and seeing what their everyday life at the NCU Polar Research Centre looks like turned out to be equally essential. Due to the openness the musicians presented, much more happened than we had initially planned, notices Roman Tondel, the originator of the "Science. Music. The Arctic." project. With great involvement, the musicians watched the scientists performing their daily research duties and wanted to understand those people as well as the meaning of the place.

The whole expedition which the Organek band joined to attract the attention of future audience to the consequences of the climate change is only part of the project. A resulting documentary presenting daily work of scientists in that region of the world will be released. For a few days, the scientists and musicians were accompanied by a film crew whose task was to document their work, life at the NCU Polar Research Centre as well as the arctic landscape.

Within the last two decades, the rate of ice melting has accelerated several  times, adds Prof. Sobota. Every measure we can take to save glaciers is worthwhile, so I am very pleased with that project.

A new single by Organek, the intimate performance recorded in the vicinity of glaciers, and a documentary will result from the expedition which is aimed at connecting two worlds: science and culture. Owing to this, those who do not have the opportunity to observe climate change  up close will be able to understand the processes occurring in the Arctic better.

We all experience climate change, not only on Spitsbergen, but also in Poland or any other region of the world, says Dr hab. Adam Kola, Prof.NCU, Vice-Rector for Research. The  "Science. Music. The Arctic." project was developed so that everyone could feel, understand, and experience the change because the change is already taking place.

Together with  spending a few days away from civilization, being surrounded by glaciers and wilderness, we were given an opportunity to find some peace and look at life from a different perspective. Tomasz Organek admits that on Spitsbergen he has found a piece of land which electrifies him. There is something here which makes you stay alone with yourself. This is a strange feeling: we are far away from civilization, in cold, and among wild animals. But this land favors contemplation and mental improvement. I suspect this won't be my only stay in this part of the world.

After the expedition ends, next stages of the project will be completed. In the forthcoming months, the new single by the Organek band, the video recorded in the vicinity of the glacier,  the recording of the exceptional performance as well as the documentary presenting daily work of the scientists who stay at the NCU Polar Research Centre for a few months each year will be released.