Sticks of Fire

The inspiration for the title of this piece comes from a drive home one night while I was living in Tampa, FL. Like many summer nights in Florida, there was a violent thunderstorm rolling across the bay. I had experienced driving in Florida thunderstorms many times before, but this one was different. At that time, I was living on Davis Islands, accessed by just one bridge south of downtown. As I pulled onto the bridge, I realized I was in the dead center of the storm, driving on what was the highest point within a half-mile radius. I’ve never been a big fan of lightning, but I had never been terrified of it until that moment. Bolts of lightning were colliding with the bay on both sides of the bridge. In the 30 seconds I was on the bridge, there were, what felt like, 10-15 strikes of lightning within view.

When I was asked to write this piece, I immediately recalled this moment and knew it must be the inspiration for it. I searched for a title that not only represented this terrifying and powerful moment but also paid homage to the beauty of the city that I called home for four years. The term “Sticks of Fire” has a few different meanings. First, it is believed that the word 'Tampa' may have meant 'sticks of fire' in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once inhabited the Tampa area; therefore, the city was named such because of the high number of lightning strikes it receives each year. 'Sticks of Fire' is also the title of a sculpture residing in Plant Park at The University of Tampa, where I received my undergraduate degree. I felt this term perfectly encapsulated the power of the trombone, which guided my writing of the piece.