“Sonoran Rivers: A Celebration of Desert Water,” is a musical composition written by Yuanyuan Kay He, an associate professor of music at the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts. The music is described as an “exploration of the ecology and cultural history of the Santa Cruz River Watershed.”
- University of Arizona’s Arizona Institute for Resilience discusses the importance of desert watersheds. The video includes a description of the music by the composer
- Watch a full live May 2025 performance by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall
In a video describing the music, He explains how instruments were used to represent land features and other elements of nature and how local water monitoring data helps form other elements of the composition.
“Here the music uses scientific data from hydrology and draw (or drawdown) studies to shape the sound and melody,” she said. “This data helps to support the structure of this section, (and) turns numbers into sonic textures that reflect the health and history of our watershed.”
PAG provided Cienega Creek water flow data that was used in creating the composition. PAG conducts quarterly wet/dry mapping and water quality measurements in Cienega Creek and Davidson Canyon and maintains one of the longest-term consistent datasets of its kind in the state.
The data that PAG collects serves as an indicator of riparian health and the impacts of drought and land use changes. Cienega Creek is one of the few remaining perennial low-elevation streams in our region.
Other agencies, such as Pima County and Watershed Management Group, also contributed hydrologic data from the Santa Cruz River and Tanque Verde Creek.