“We believe that music and art inspire us to notice, observe, and actively participate in our communities while acknowledging and protecting the natural environment that sustains them…We believe that music and art inspire us to notice and engage with the natural world in new ways. And that this in turn will lead to active stewardship of the places we call home.” - Halcyon Strings’ website, the clarion call that beckons them to their work.

Halcyon Strings' deft alchemy of music and information, of urgency and hope, is the hallmark of their stirring and stunning performances year after year. For 2026, their original program “The Future is Here” is an effort to draw attention to profound environmental issues while urging hopeful action at the same time. The performance combines music, film, community voices, and stop-motion animations to celebrate the ingenuity within local communities through a series of vignettes that tell stories of the concrete actions being taken to mitigate the climate crisis. A free presentation will be offered at the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.

Sophie Davis, violinist and the group’s artistic director, says “We've been wanting to do something more solutions-oriented for a long time. But it felt a little daunting... It's really easy to find information about everything that's going wrong, all of the problems and all of the challenges. Yet every time we've done a project, I feel like we sort of get stuck when we get to, how do we turn this around into something positive?

"There's so much happening in Maine and in our communities that is really cool, addressing all of these challenges that we're facing in a way that's making communities stronger, tackling a lot of social and environmental issues from many different angles. So that was kind of the germ of the idea," Davis said.

Research took them to, among other places, a community garden in Millbridge called Incredible Edible Millbridge. They did a garlic gathering with Cultivating Community, whose mission is to cultivate food justice, at Hurricane Valley Farm in Falmouth, and planted fruit trees in Harrison; they found an inspiring community energy everywhere they went. 

An aspect of this program that the group particularly loved was the opportunity to work with the talented singer-songwriter Alisa Amador, who contributed original songs to “The Future is Here.”

“Alisa's such a creative person, and an amazing lyricist," said Davis. "Being able to kind of transform some songs to match the show, specifically, was very cool."

The evening will be a chance to be inspired, moved, connected and reminded of the common spirit and sense of community that can make a difference, one local step at a time.

The event is sponsored by the Boothbay Region Land Trust, Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Boothbay Sea & Science Center, Sunrise Ecologic and the Boothbay Region Climate Action Committee.

The Opera House is at 86 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor. Donations to support the Opera House are encouraged at the door. Seating begins at 6:30 p.m. for 7 p.m. performance. The bar will have cold drinks for sale, cash only.