Chris Zatarain

Planet Forward Sr. Correspondent | University of Arizona

Major / Minor: Applied Intercultural Arts Research

Chris Zatarain is a graduate student at the University of Arizona where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Intercultural Arts Research. His primary area of research is in applied ecomusicology and his interests are in the intersections of music, art, and the environment, specially looking at the ways in which music and sound can be used in environmental storytelling and science communication to inspire global environmental change.

Chris is a classically trained oboist who enjoys playing orchestral and chamber music, especially music that is centered around nature and the environment. His creative work is based in music and audio production as well as music composition and performance. In addition to ecomusic and ecoart, some of his other interests include organic gardening and sustainable food systems, plant-based lifestyles, environmental justice, ecospirituality, speculative fiction and ecofuturism, and topics in mental health surrounding climate grief and anxiety. His musical composition "The Sound of Mountains Melting" was selected as a 2023 Storyfest Finalist.

Living and growing amidst the backdrop of the mystical Sonoran Desert has played a significant role in Chris's reverence for the natural world and his passion for defending it. He sees Tucson as one of many communities at the forefront of environmental change, adaptation, and resilience. He aspires to contribute to the growing body of artistic work telling critical environmental stories, as well as to amplify the voices and work of marginalized community-members, climate-actors, and change-makers in his community in Tucson and beyond.