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ESF Student Debuts Original Composition at Music Society Concert
An original composition, written by senior Forrest Baird, made its campus debut April 11 at the ESF Music Society's Breakfast Club Concert in Nifkin Lounge.
The Ecotones, ESF's acapella vocal ensemble, performed "Tranquil Night" under the direction of Baird at the concert held in Nifkin Lounge.
Baird, an environmental science/renewable energy systems major, found his inspiration for the piece at ESF. "I thought of the people here and how they cared for nature and worked to preserve its integrity and not destroy it for economic gain," Baird said. "Humans and nature need to co-exist."
The song's lyrics describe a stroll through a forest on a pleasant night with a light breeze, he said. The music compliments the lyrics, creating a relaxed and contemplative mood. Baird gives kudos to Morgan Connally, a junior conservation biology major, who lead rehearsals of the piece with the Ecotones prior to the concert. " I was able to come in and just do a couple run-throughs," he said.
Baird has been writing music since he was in high school. "In tenth grade I discovered I had perfect pitch," he said, "so it was easy to pick up instruments. By the time I was a senior I was composing music." To date, he's written and premiered pieces for concert band, string quartets, a Christian band and film orchestrations.
Baird finds that his studies at ESF help balance the two sides of his brain: the creative right side and the logical left side.
"It helps improve my logic and critical thinking," he said. The combination of the two — music and science — then enable him to "come up with innovative solutions," he said.
Tranquil Night
Words and Music by Forrest Baird
In the night, tranquil night,
The moon shines ever bright.
As the sun falls asleep,
Crickets chirp, flowers weep.
In the night, fireflies light up the lake
While the frogs lie awake.
Comets fly in the sky speaking to all.
The wolves howl when the owls begin to call.
The stars glisten as trees listen to the nighttime breeze.
In the twilight the moon shines bright; natives sleep with ease.
In the night, tranquil night,
The moon shines bright.