Oceanrise, for string orchestra, follows a single trajectory, evolving slowly from a patient, serene beginning to a frenzied finale full of alarm. Along the way, the piece paints pictures of the ocean in various forms. The gradual transformation, meanwhile, is one that listeners may interpret in two ways: either as a representation of (most of) humanity’s collective mounting anxiety over the coming devastating effects of climate change, or (more literally) as a depiction of rising sea levels. In the latter sense, the frenzy at the end of the piece is something akin to drowning. Oceanrise was written in 2019 on a commission from Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville, Ohio, where it was premiered in 2020 under the direction of Charise Zablotsky.
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