Today’s Video of the Day is a performance of Gabriella Smith’s ‘Anthozoa for Violin, Cello, Piano, and Percussion’. Named after a class of marine invertebrates that include sea anemones and coral, ‘Anthozoa’ captures the aquatic sounds Smith found beneath the surface when paddle boating on the reefs of the French Polynesia. The propulsive piece, featuring a performance by violinist Maya Anjali Buchanan, cellist Matthew Christakos, pianist Delvan Lin, and percussionist Tae McLoughlin concludes with an eerie passage that hints at the impending destruction of these fragile yet resilient undersea gardens, somehow thriving despite the continued threat of climate change, warming seas, bioerosion, overfishing, and pollution.

The recording can be found on the Curtis Institute of Music’s new studio album A Century of New Sounds. This album is the fifth recording from Curtis Studio, the recording label of the Curtis Institute of Music. It includes a collection of nine works chosen in honour of Curtis’ 100^th anniversary season.  The album was recorded on the school’s campus in Philadelphia and features alumni, faculty and students.