Why we give / Alex Shapiro

[WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD]
ALEX SHAPIRO: Well there's so many things I love,
living here on San Juan Island.
I've been up here 10 years now
and, uh, for probably, maybe,
the rest of my life — however long that is.
I just can't imagine anywhere more beautiful to live — for me.
[CONNECTING MUSIC AND SCIENCE]
For me, personally, there is a kind of magical connection between
my life as a composer and my life as an advocate of marine sciences.
And the connection, for me, is exactly what we're hearing.
The irregular rhythms of the lapping of the sea.
The sounds of the birds as they go by —
also irregular, different pitches.
All the many sounds.
All the many visuals that, in their own way, are musical.
All the different colors and textures behind me and around me.
It all pours into my music.
[SCIENTIST FOR A DAY]
I think my all-time favorite thing is going out on the Centennial
which is the [Friday Harbor] Labs' research vessel.
And, uh, it is an extraordinary thing to go out on a dredge
and, you know, just be up the San Juan Channel
and see what's coming up from the bottom.
I saw this little worm that I thought was kind of cool
I know nothing about worms.
I like worms, but I have no knowledge about worms.
And I find this and I turn to a scientist next to me
uh, and I said, "What's this?"
And they looked at it and they say,
"Oh my gosh! We've never seen one of these here!"
And they scooped it up and I felt useful.
[laughs]
Like, scientist for a day!
It was very exciting.
[WHY I GIVE TO THE UW]
One of the reasons I give to the University of Washington,
the College of the Environment,
and to the Friday Harbor Labs
is because of its support of immersive learning.
I'll make an analogy.
It's just like, you know, here I am, a composer, right?
And I can stare at a piano all I want,
I could stare at a trombone all I want,
I can pick up books and learn all the physics of how to make sound
from a trombone or a piano or a piccolo,
but, you know what, until I pick that instrument up
and actually get my hands on it
and listen to it in the context of being one of the players around it,
I am not a real musician.
Immersive learning in science is the exact same thing.
That we could stare out at these beautiful waters,
we can imagine and learn from books what's living in them.
We can know a great deal from books,
but being out on the water and interacting with these creatures
and watching their behavior
and being able to pull things up and study them
and watch them in our hands...
That is an experience of learning that cuts beyond the intellect
into the heart and the emotion.
Those things are connected.
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Why we give / Alex Shapiro

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