From: claudia copeland <claudiacopeland@yahoo.com>

Well, this will probably be one of the more off-the-wall ideas, but it is the odd workings of a mind involved in science and the arts:

What popped into my mind was an expression of the change of the river, from the rather pure country-charm icon of the past, to the pollution ridden transport entity it is treated as now, using music (classical voice- soprano- and ?) and dance. I would express the suffering of the river itself (water, fish, plants, microorganisms...) and its yearning and hope for purification. Perhaps quite the science geeky take on it, rather than a cultural/literary one based on the people living around the river, and rather depressing and probably not what you are after, but that is what I would do. If you are interested, I'll get composing!

(In case you are wondering about background, I have a B.A. in music from UCSD, which heavily emphasized experimental and 20th century music, and am working on a Ph.D. in molecular biology, where one lab rotation and a good deal of coursework was in toxicology.)

Your idea sounds interesting, at any rate. I will be interested to see what other people's take on the river is, when it comes out.