Hillary Hauser: A Force of Nature in Oceanography and Music
Credit: Paul Wellman
Hillary Hauser is a force of nature, specifically the ocean, as co-founder and Executive Director of Santa Barbara-based Heal the Ocean since 1998. She recently stepped down from the leadership post but maintains an active role as Strategic Advisor and Board member. That’s only a fraction of her lifework as underwater photojournalist, author, classical pianist and music critic.
As a diver, Hauser’s respect for what makes up 96.5 percent of the earth coupled with a trailblazing desire to remove gunk and plastics from water inspires Heal the Ocean’s focus on wastewater infrastructure, septic systems and capping of old, leaking oil wells along seven miles of beaches of the beautiful coast of Santa Barbara County – basically cleaning up ocean pollution and dumping. Her work has received local, state and federal recognition as well as the prestigious NOGI Award given by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences for Distinguished Service – the Oscar of the sea.
Hauser’s connection to underwater adventure has taken her to exotic places, many of which are mentioned in her latest book Dancing on Waves (BookBaby, 2022) in addition to stacks of articles in publications like National Geographic, Los Angeles Times, Santa Barbara News-Press about high-end personalities in the performing arts and oceanographic scene such as Jacques and Jean-Michel Cousteau, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gil Shaham and the late Martin Bernheimer (a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism recipient).
As co-founder of the Tavros Records label in support of emerging talents, Hauser’s unbridled enthusiasm for classical music included a long stint of teaching mostly beginners who played on her 1936 Steinway grand while sharing tips about interpretation and technique learned from attending master classes of the late Jakob Gimpel – himself a pupil of Alban Berg. But for Hauser, the elliptical circle revolves around the sea as she writes in her website, “For some, the ocean is the Great Lap that waits with understanding and comfort, with surrounding love and familiarity, fishes and magic.” There is also a spark of mojo in her canvas artwork of fishes, shells and coral displayed on her website and in local galleries. www.hillaryhauser.com
Mission Forward, Directed by Heather Hudson of Graciegirl LLC is a short montage of Hillary Hauser’s work with Heal the Ocean and of her pianistic savvy in playing the background soundtrack of Liszt’s mellifluous Consolation No. 3 in D Flat. Of course, she is in tune with a selection of classical music composers whose nautical themed pieces remain standouts such as La Mer (Debussy), A Sea Symphony (Vaughan Williams) and Become Ocean (John Luther Adams) that received a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HEAL THE OCEAN, CLICK THE LINK BELOW