I began composing The Compass Suite shortly after reading Endurance by Alfred Lansing, an account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition of 1914. The piece draws on themes of adventure, combining jazz-infused rhythms with sweeping landscapes.

 

   The first movement, Compass, evokes the optimism of embarking on a new journey. A theme reminiscent of a sea shanty suggests a crew setting out toward an uncertain horizon before increasingly turbulent waters lead to a storm. The middle section is disoriented, suggesting a ship lost in the fog. Eventually, the opening theme returns, but with a new sense of caution.

 

   Silent White is inspired by the surreal stillness after a heavy snowfall, when the world becomes hushed and sound gets absorbed by the landscape. The movement explores reverberation and echo, including passages in which the piano imitates the effect of a delay pedal, gradually opening from frozen stillness into renewed resonance.

 

   The final movement, Full Speed Down the Mountain, takes inspiration from a dramatic episode near the end of Shackleton's ordeal, when he and two crew members slid 3,000 feet down a snow-covered mountainside to reach safety. Propulsive rhythms, unexpected accents, and interruptions suggest bumps in the terrain, sudden obstacles, and moments of airborne exhilaration.

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   The Compass Suite was written for Cameron Crozman and Meagan Milatz, and will be featured on their upcoming album, to be released in 2027. I met Cameron at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, ON, which is where the piece was premiered in 2024.