Chasing Sunlight (Solo Violin & String Orchestra)

Chasing Sunlight for solo violin and string orchestra is the second collaboration between composer Mark David Boden and violinist Fenella Humphreys. This c.5-minute programmatic work has links to the migration of the Arctic Tern.

These Terns (or 'Sea-Swallows' as they are affectionately known) complete pole-to-pole migrations in excess of 44,000 miles each year, from breeding grounds in the Arctic to summers spent in the Antarctic, ‘chasing the light’ of the sun in search of food. There are significant musical references and imagery associated with such epic migrations - light, chasing light/sunbeams, oceans, the tempest, volatile weather, the sense of an epic journey (for both the terns and concerto soloist), and musical links such as seasons (the Vivaldi concerti) or birdsong more widely. 

Chasing Sunlight forms the starting point for a longer violin concerto which Mark will write for Fenella, to be premiered in 2025.