Nigel Hess: Shelter Island.: Brass Band: Score

Shelter Island is a small island situated near the end of Long Island a few hours drive east of New York. In the summer it becomes a crowded tourist trap but in the winter it is gloriously deserted and bravely faces the onslaught of the turbulent Atlantic shrouded in sea mists and driving rain. This brass band transcription by Phillip Littlemore is of the first movement of East Coast Pictures originally written for wind band and was commissioned in 1985 by the British Youth Wind Orchestra with funds from National Westminster Bank plc. These three short ‘pictures’ were inspired by several visits by the composer to a small part of the USA’sEast Coast an area that provides great extremes in the geography and the people.