Instrumentation: Tenor, alto flute, oboe, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Year Composed: 2013
Commissioned By: The Erato Ensemble

The unique combination of instruments and voice, tenor, alto flute, oboe, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone, was an absolute joy to write for.
I felt that the wonderfully colourful imagery was a perfect fit for blending the colours of the different wind instruments. The poem, also titled “Island Storm”, is by Vancouver Poet Shannon Rayne.

“As the streetlights black out,
you rise and fall, a cascade of waves
crashing around my bedroom.
Those living on islands
fear storms,
in ways only islanders can,
know the destruction always possible
one rip tide away.
But I have just traveled here,
to feel the wild winds warm my skin,
to watch the sky melt
from purple to orange to black.
to think of turning back.”