A photography competition titled, “Can You See the Wind?” is underway where students from Martin County High School’s Photography Program will capture the feel of air and wind on film. A local composer, Cherith Reynolds-Clark, has been commissioned to write all of the music for the event. Cherith is a published author and poet and currently serves as the Composer-in-Residence at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Stuart. The awards program for the "Can You See the Wind" photography competition will feature Cherith’s debut performance of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “The Wind,” set to music. Music will be provided by a quartet from South Fork High School, accompanied by piano and flute. The audience will have a chance to see, feel, and hear the invisible force of the wind, creating a unique multi-sensorial experience.
Meet Cherith Reynolds-Clark
You’ve been commissioned to bring sound to something inherently invisible—wind. How did you translate that idea into music in a way that complements the students’ photography and creates a truly immersive, multi-sensory experience?
Nature is a profound source of inspiration for me. In many ways, music already exists within it—the challenge is learning how to translate what we hear and feel into a musical language.
With wind, I focused on its constant motion and unpredictability. The music reflects that through ebb and flow—shifting between louder and softer dynamics, rising and falling pitches, and evolving textures. Wind is never static, and I wanted the music to mirror that sense of movement.
If you listen closely, wind often carries its own tones—sometimes even a kind of whistling. I tried to capture both its literal and expressive qualities. At times, you may hear something that directly evokes wind, but more often, you’ll hear the way it behaves—the way it moves, surrounds, and transforms the space around us.
How does collaborating—directly or indirectly—with student artists shape the way you approach composition, and what do you hope they take away from seeing their work in dialogue with yours?
When working with students, my goal is to make music feel both engaging and accessible. I want them to experience how different forms of art can come together to create something larger than any one piece on its own.
What excites me about this collaboration is the shared perspective from different senses. Wind itself is invisible, but the students capture its visible effects—movement in trees, water, or light. My role is to capture its sonic presence—what it feels like to hear and experience it.
Together, their images and my music create a more complete, immersive experience. I hope students walk away seeing how their work can exist in dialogue with another medium, and how art can deepen meaning when it’s experienced collaboratively.
Cherith Reynolds-Clark holds a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition from Houghton University and a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from the University of Rochester. She currently serves as Composer-in-Residence at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Stuart, Florida, where she writes choral and liturgical works. Her compositions have been commissioned by Asbury Theological Seminary and the Community of the Savior Church in Rochester, New York, including several original mass settings. In addition to her work as a composer, Cherith is a full-time software applications architect at the University of Rochester and a published author. She lives in Palm City, Florida, with her husband and their dog.
