Earth Between Oceans (2025)

Earth Between Oceans explores the power of nature through the lens of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. It was written to celebrate Maestro Gustavo Dudamel’s deep connection to the cities of Los Angeles and New York, the places I also call home. In writing this piece, I was inspired by the ways in which these natural forces are infinitely more powerful, more ancient, and more resilient than any rising political chaos. 

Each movement takes inspiration from both a city and an element. Earth, the first movement, opens on New York in winter — patches of hardened soil harbor life beneath the surface, enduring the cold until they bloom in spring. Piano, harp, tam-tam, and bass drum evoke the stillness and weight of frozen ground, while the ensemble gradually gathers momentum and warmth, culminating in a sense of renewal by the movement’s end. Earth incorporates speech, conjuring the layered soundscape of a densely populated, ever-thriving metropolis. 

As if viewed from a skyscraper, Air is inspired by New York from above — the wide sky, the water, and the city unfurling far below. The movement begins and ends with a feeling of vast, open space — a calm detachment from the noise and urgency of life below. In Air, the chorus plays a central role, embodying breath and wind.

Fire is driven by rhythm; pulse and momentum take precedence over melody. I began composing this movement on January 7, 2025—the same day devastating wildfires broke out in Altadena, the Pacific Palisades, and across Southern California. In response to the destruction, I wove a refrain of loss throughout the movement, serving as a moment of reflection amidst the recurring rhythmic motif. The movement is dedicated to the people of Southern California, and to the staff and musicians of the LA Philharmonic whose lives were affected by this tragedy.

Water is inspired by the crashing blue surf and golden light of Los Angeles’s Pacific coast. The ensemble moves as a unified whole, swelling and receding as strings, voices, and brass carry broad melodic lines. The choir bursts forth from the texture, a cresting wave, then recedes back into the churning mist of the orchestra.

In this work, I took joy in exploring rhythm as a primary compositional element. In Earth, the meter accelerates through the movement, erupting in a guttural peak when the voices from the choir unite for the first time. In Air, a lack of consistent pulse creates a sense of endless space. In Fire, polyrhythms morph, cycle and grow, and in Water, the rhythm ebbs and flows like the currents of the ocean. Another seismic component to this piece is the large, wordless choir, conceived instrumentally and adding a dynamic timbre to the ensemble.

Earth Between Oceans celebrates the power of nature in conversation with the threats our environment faces. As a metaphor for the concurrent crises affecting our Earth, I captured field recordings while collecting plastic trash at beaches in Los Angeles (Venice, Santa Monica) and New York City (Rockaway Beach, Coney Island). These field recordings are woven throughout the work as connective tissue, a reminder that we live on a planet whose equilibrium is being challenged by our actions.  

Finally, Earth Between Oceans is dedicated to Gustavo Dudamel, a bridge-builder who forges meaningful connections across communities of people from different backgrounds, cultures, ages, classes, and abilities. His fierce positivity and tremendous talents inspire us to think bigger and do better. Therefore, despite the growing political, environmental, and social challenges we face, I felt deeply committed to ending the work with a sense of optimism—even if it feels out of reach.

-Ellen Reid

June 22, 2025