Rapa Nui

For oboe, Cello, and Piano (2024)

Duration: 6:45

Rapa Nui honors the celebrated moai statues of the Pacific’s Easter Island. Over 2000 miles off the coast of mainland South America as one of the most isolated communities on our planet, the culture of Rapa Nui is special. Remnants of the island’s mysterious history remain in the form of moai, large rock sculptures resembling human busts. These artifacts of human history litter the small island and have brought the community worldwide fame.

Global warming due to humanity’s impact on our planet’s climate is becoming today’s most dire problem. A great consequence of these changes include rising sea levels, threatening the future of Easter Island. With only an estimated 50 years left for the moai to remain above sea level and minimal funded efforts to preserve one of humanity’s greatest treasures, Rapa Nui struggles. My composition rides along one of these Pacific waves, flowing in and out of tonalities and tempos. I create as many points of tension and release as possible to symbolize these life-threatening tides.