Commissioned by Meredith Brown Alden and the American Composers Forum for the grand opening of the Mary Van Evera Visual Arts Center at Northland College (Ashland, WI), Northern Light opens with a splash, a brief suggestion of the gentle waves of Lake Superior, and then a broadly swinging theme. A playful treatment of the fanfare idea leads to antiphonal trumpets and general celebration. Bass trombone may be substituted for tuba.