The long-term plan was to build lights along the Outer Banks approximately forty miles apart, so that as soon as ships lost sight of one light, the next would come into view. In 1803, Congress appropriated $5,000 for a committee to evaluate the possibility of building lighthouses along the eastern seaboard. The particularly treacherous area off Cape Lookout earned the name the “Horrible Headland.” However, all vessels had a common problem: the warm Gulf Stream mixed with the cool Labrador Current to produce intense fog and dangerous shoals. Vessels sailing south needed to keep close to land to avoid the northbound waters of the Gulf Stream, and vessels sailing north needed to stay in the Gulf Stream to avoid the southbound Labrador Current. Lookout Bight was a favorite refuge for colonial sailors seeking safe harbor during the frequent hurricanes and storms, but the most lasting activity came from the ever-increasing maritime commerce along the eastern seaboard.īecause of opposing currents, the Outer Banks proved tricky to navigate. The convoluted and protected coast around Cape Lookout and Ocracoke provided ideal locations for pirates to launch attacks against other ships and to hide with their captured booty. Meanwhile, the surrounding waters had seen their share of excitement.

But on April 12, 1776, North Carolina became the first colony to call for independence from England. The region was under control of the Lords Proprietor - complete with a constitution drafted by John Locke - until 1729, when North Carolina became a royal colony. North Carolina saw the first attempts at English colonization in 1585, and by 1650 hundreds of settlers had moved south from Virginia.

It wasn’t until English settlers came that the Old World got its foot firmly in the door of this part of the New World. The land has been inhabited for centuries in 1524, the Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazano reported native peoples living in the area, and between 15 Spain sent several explorers to the region, although none attempted to colonize. The twenty-one-mile stretch of Cape Lookout Shoals has a history as long and interesting as its country’s. To paraphrase Thomas Gray, Cape Lookout has “read a nation’s history in its eye.” 23.54€ $24.It’s fitting that one of the most strikingly distinctive lighthouses on the eastern seaboard is on a stretch of the Outer Banks that has witnessed everything from hurricanes to malaria, from pirates to Nazi U-boats. Lighthouse Suite is dedicated to the Gaudete Brass Quintet who premiered the piece in the fall of 2014. A return of the call to the high seas leads to an energetic conclusion. A dramatic moment leads to a heroic moment, followed by a moment of silence for those who have fallen (the second theme of the fourth movement is presented in the style of taps). The finale represents daybreak and the excitement of the new day. The second movement depicts adventures on the open sea. In this you will hear the introduction of the lighthouse dynamic, a large dynamic sweep, representing the lighthouse light swinging by and out of sight again. Lighthouses have always been a fascination of mine all of the things they must see! The piece begins with a call to the high seas.

A brief conversation resulted in a commission for an expansive four movement work written over the course of three years. In the spring of 2010, my minister put me in touch with his nephew, the trombonist of the Gaudete Brass Quintet of Chicago. score and parts - Imagine Music - Digital Published by Imagine Music - Digital (IZ.IMS1511).

Lighthouse keeper chords