The Butterfly Effect is a brief song cycle for solo soprano and piano describing the metaphor of a small action, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, completely altering the direction and behavior of a large tornado/storm. In order to depict this concept, two poems relating to storms were incorporated for the cycle. The first song’s text, “Storm,” by Emma Lazarus depicts the storm beginning. The second song’s text, “Storm Ending,” by Jean Toomer depicts the storm finally ending.

Performers: Brent Funderburk and Wallis Lucas

The Butterfly Effect - Willie Cornish Jr.

The graphic above is a visualization of global wind patterns; massive amounts of weather data are fed into a supercomputer that then produces a live (or pseudo-live) “wind map.” The swirls and swoops are color-coded: areas of blue and green are relatively calm, while red and purple usually imply devastating conditions in a tropical system. There is something particularly poetic about seeing our atmosphere on such a macro scale; the same colors converted from numerical data also suggest Van Gogh-esque brushstrokes. The confluence of the empirical and the aesthetic in the “wind map” has proved wildly inspiring for the composition of this piece.

The Juilliard Orchestra (reading)
Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor

Wind Map (2018): for orchestra

Composer, Arranger, and music lover.
Furman University '22
University of Michigan '24
-To view/purchase sheet music or to know more, visit: www.williecornishjr.com

The Butterfly Effect - Willie Cornish Jr.

Willie Cornish Jr.

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