Odyssey of a Shearwater || July Competition 2024

It's been a LONG time since I've done an orchestral, so here I go.

For this piece I chose to represent the Sooty Shearwater which has been largely ignored as having the 2nd longest journey of any bird and by far as well. The Sooty shearwater also has the longest electronically calculated duration of migration. To represent its very HIGH duration I chose the Piccolo which has the highest register of the woodwinds section. I also gave the piccolo many fast and virtuoso parts as the bird needs to be fast to reach its destination. The flight of the Sooty Shearwater is across the pacific ocean which makes the journey hellish, but they must do this so that they can mate before crossing the pacific again. To represent the feeling of tension when flying over the entire pacific, I've decided to include a good amount of dissonance. In addition I'd like to dedicate this piece to @ddw who like the Sooty Shearwater, has to go through a hellish journey to make it here. Thanks coach :)