THIS IS NOT MOTHER NATURE

Early in the summer of 2011 I visited Westport, New York, a small town on the shores of Lake Champlain. Due to record snow fall and an unusually rainy spring, the lake had risen to a height not seen for generations. The result was the destruction and flooding of many homes and businesses along the lake. Rather than hiking and swimming I spent the weekend tearing down rotten, mold-filled walls of a friend’s lakeside restaurant, helping them get back on their feet after weeks of being closed.

In July I travelled to Nebraska City, Nebraska for a month long residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center. I was stunned during my approach to Omaha’s airport when I saw the crested Missouri river stretching for miles in all directions. The submerged buildings, the interstate’s giant clover interchanges poking through muddy water, and the rows of sandbags surrounding the tarmac, barely holding back the surging river from the airfield, were surreal.

Floods, unlike other natural disasters, do not simply end. They linger for months at a time. The water slowly recedes as helpless residents patiently wait to see what is left of their property. These disasters are both natural and man- made. The Missouri River flood, however, was significantly more man-made than not. Like upstate New York, the winter in Nebraska brought record snowfall. Melting snow combined with heavy spring rains led to overfilled reservoirs. Responding to the crisis the Army Corps of Engineers began a series of planned releases, initiating the massive downstream flooding. I came across a youtube video of an Iowan farmer flying above his land, surveying what was left of his submerged crops. He repeated to the camera, “This is not mother nature…This is not mother nature.”

This piece was commissioned by Hunter College for Reuben Blundell and the Hunter Symphony and premiered March 21, 2012 by the Hunter Symphony at Hunter College, New York, NY. I am also grateful to the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center and the I-Park Foundation for providing the time and space to create this work.

Performance materials for this piece are available for hire.

Please fill out the rental inquiry form here for pricing and more information.

May 4, 2017 Connecticut College, New London, CT. Conn College Orchestra, Mark Seto, director.

June 9, 2013 Woodstock Playhouse, Woodstock, NY. The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.

March 2, 2013 Symphony Space, New York, NY. Mannes Pre-College Orchestra.

March 21, 2012 Assembly Hall, New York, NY. Hunter Symphony, Reuben Blundell, Conductor.

December 7, 2011 Hunter College, New York, NY. Hunter Symphony, Reuben Blundell, Conductor.