Wildfires inspire CT composer to write piano suite about climate change
Aug. 23, 2023Updated: Aug. 25, 2023 11:20 a.m.
Three thousand miles away from his Connecticut home, Brian Field’s family members have faced the growing risk of wildfires near their home in California's Bay Area over the years.
These natural events, with varying levels of severity, have increasingly become the norm, and Field said some of his friends in northern California have lost their homes to the flames. This year, he’s watched news of families in Canada experiencing similar horrors, and again in Maui, Hawaii, where the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history recently decimated the island's historic town of Lahaina.
The Fairfield-based composer’s connection to climate disasters inspired him to write “Three Passions for our Tortured Planet,” a 12-minute solo piano suite performed in three parts: "Fire," "Glaciers" and "Wind." Through the song, he aims to raise awareness and funds for climate research, by donating all the royalties and ticket sales from his performances to the science advocacy organization Union of Concerned Scientists.
“It's easy to become passionate when it affects you directly. The fact that my family is surrounded by burning forest brings it home. And it makes it more immediate, more personal, less abstract,” he said. “I think it's that kind of proximity that drives more energy around it, at least it did for me.”
The award-winning composer has written nearly 100 pieces since graduating from Connecticut College in New London and The Julliard School in New York City, his music containing elements of post-romanticism, minimalism and jazz, according to his website. His compositions, which range from solo acoustic to vocal to ballet, have been performed across the U.S. and internationally.
“Three Passions,” a concept he brainstormed with fellow Julliard alumnus, Kay Kyung Eun Kim, represents his artistic transition towards using the power of music to address the issues around him.
The second movement of the suite, "Glaciers," was inspired by a visit to Alaska, where friends led him to the foot of a glacier and compared the structure to a picture from 15 years ago. It had shrunk to a fraction of that size, he said. The third part, "Wind," is dedicated to his friends living in Florida, who have reported hurricanes becoming stronger.
Since its release in 2021, the composition has been performed and recorded by over 70 pianists worldwide, and it has raised a few thousand dollars for the Union of Concerned Scientists, Field said. Some pianists have teamed with video artists and choreographers on multimedia collaborations and concerts. It has also received several awards, including first prize at the Golden Keys Piano Festival and Platinum prize in the Beethoven International Music Competition.