ECHOES OF A NORTHERN LAKE
- Grade 4+
- Duration: ~10 minutes
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- View a perusal score
Echoes of a Northern Lake was commissioned in celebration of the National Youth Band’s 30th anniversary with support from the Canadian Band Association, the Ontario Band Association, and a consortium of 60 ensembles and individuals from across North America. As a proud alumna of the NYB, it was a great honour to write music for this occasion and for this community.
The inspiration for this piece is rooted in my relationship with the natural world. I spent much of my childhood on a lake* where I had the privilege of interacting with an abundance of plants and animals– most notably, the common loon. This piece is my musical interpretation of the loons’ song and the beautiful yet rapidly declining ecosystems they rely on. Each section of the piece is a vignette of my cherished memories and an invitation for musicians and audiences to reflect on their own relationships with nature. We all have a role to play in the health and longevity of the planet we call home, and we are much more likely to protect that which we know and love. I believe that music is one of the ways in which we can inspire and empower others to connect, care, and take action.
*I respectfully acknowledge that the lands upon which I developed these early relationships with nature are located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and Huron-Wendat peoples. The land on which I live and work today is that of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples. I recognize that these lands have been cared for by Indigenous peoples for time immemorial, and I exist in these spaces with immense gratitude.