What an extraordinary month it has been for Lisa and me here in Kelowna. Nestled within the breathtaking landscapes of British Columbia’s Columbia Mountains, it has been a tremendous honour to serve as the 2026 Artist-in-Residence at the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, hosted by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus.
This residency was especially meaningful because it allowed me to focus on three things that are deeply important to me: playing piano, composing new music, and connecting with nature.
Over the past several years, my creative practice has largely centred on composing music for other performers. While I have found that work immensely fulfilling, there has always been a small part of me that missed performing my own music. That longing was certainly fulfilled this month when I had the opportunity to perform my hour-long solo piano composition, Earth Hour. Although I have performed this work many times over the years, this was the first time I had ever presented it outdoors.
Last Wednesday evening was truly unforgettable. Hearing the piano converse with the wind through the trees, the birds overhead, and the chorus of frogs and crickets around us created a musical experience unlike any I have had before. It was a beautiful reminder that nature can be both an audience and a collaborator.
I was deeply grateful that so many people attended the performance, especially considering that wildfire smoke had affected the region’s air quality. In fact, the day after the concert brought some of the worst air quality I have ever experienced. Kelowna is unfortunately no stranger to the growing impact of wildfires, and we were fortunate that only a few days of our month-long stay were significantly affected. There was a painful irony in knowing that while we were in Kelowna, our home city of Toronto was also experiencing hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke.
That experience became the driving force behind my composing during this residency.
Following the premieres of Earth Hour in 2010 and Earth Hour 2 in 2020, I have begun work on a third hour-long work, Earth Hour 3, which I hope to release in 2030. As the climate crisis continues to intensify across the globe, I feel this next instalment must continue the growing sense of urgency that emerged in Earth Hour 2. Spending so much time immersed in nature over the past month reinforced both its extraordinary beauty and its profound fragility.
During the residency, I planned out several sections of the new work that will explore darkness through the lenses of wildfire and smoke, flooding, and light pollution. I also completed substantial work on a first draft of the opening “Fire” section, inspired in large part by the realities unfolding around us during our stay in Kelowna.
I’m thrilled that this residency has laid such a strong creative foundation for what I hope will become another ambitious chapter in the Earth Hour series. I look forward to developing the remaining sections over the coming years as 2030 approaches.
Spending a month surrounded by such remarkable landscapes has also reminded me how important it is to protect our planet’s fragile ecosystems. I don’t want the flights Lisa and I took to and from Kelowna to be part of the problem, which is why I purchase Gold Standard carbon offsets through Less.
The Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. I am grateful for their stewardship of this land, both past and present.
Many thanks to Wentworth Music for providing me with a fantastic Yamaha digital piano that made my music-making possible while in Kelowna.
Finally, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the faculty and staff of UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies for their warmth, generosity, and hospitality, especially Frances Brouse, Shauna Oddleifson, and Joanne Gervais. I am also deeply grateful to the selection committee for entrusting me with this remarkable opportunity.
This residency has been an experience that Lisa and I will carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
