Featured Work: Aquatic PastoraleGrowing up on an island meant that the sea was never far away, and it figured heavily into my early life. Aquatic Pastorale combines my personal memories with the sights, sounds, and colors of the ocean to create a musical impression of the ocean. The piece is divided into four sections, starting with Introduction – The Depths, contrasting the darkness of the deep ocean with the crashing of giant waves. Bayberry, named for a plant native to my home’s shores, presents the shoreline as I remember it: a place of roaring waves, crying gulls, bracing winds, warm sand, and idyllic days spent there. The third section, Whale and Calf, offers a pastoral scene of a mother whale and her calf swimming and playing in the ocean, much like a terrestrial pastorale may present other mother-and-child scenes. The final section, titled Lights Above and Below, connects the deep sea and the night sky through the common element of light: the light of bioluminescent organisms in the depths, and the shimmering lights of stars reflected on the surface of the ocean. These elements combine to create a portrait of the ocean as I remember it – deep, mysterious, powerful, and wonderful all at once.
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Above: Taking a bow after the premiere of Aquatic Pastorale by Dr. Paula Holcomb and the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble, 3/3/2019
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