'Inside Colour' was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta with funds provided by Lark Insurance and responds to the beautiful and mesmeric colours of the aurora, particularly when seen from space. I was inspired by some footage from the International Space Station taken as it moved through the aurora with green light below and red above.

My piece begins in response to the shimmering green light found in the lower regions of an aurora depicted by a gentle continuum in the violin that moves between ord. and sul pont as it rises in register. Through elegiac and cadenza-like development the music reaches a passionate, searing melody heard in the upmost region of the violin, inspired by the blazing red light found in the higher regions of the aurora. This gradually descends into what could be perceived as the darkness of space beyond the aurora leading to an expressive pizzicato passage, inspired by the rare blues and purples found in the lower altitudes. The music then returns to the continuum of the opening, rises up once more before gently concluding in music resonating with the ever-present gentle green light. I have translated the colour, shape and movement of the aurora subjectively through varying musical parameters and exploring the wide range of sounds found in the violin, creating a musical narrative that takes the listener up above the earth on a journey through colour.