"Nocturne for Brass Band & Percussion: The Lady with the Lamp" was composed for the BrookWright International Brass Band Composer Competition 2020. The work celebrates the life and achievements of Florence Nightingale on the 200th anniversary of her birth.

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British nurse, statistician and social reformer, who was the founding philosopher of modern nursing. She is famed for her service during the Crimean War as an administrator and nurse to British and allied soldiers in Turkey.

On Nightingale’s arrival at the main hospital in Scutari, she was greeted with filthy conditions, uncooperative staff and severe overcrowding. Soldiers were treated by an incompetent and ineffective medical establishment lacking the most basic medical supplies.

Nightingale established the basic standards of care we know today (bathing, clean clothing and dressings, adequate food) as well as the recognition of the psychological needs of the wounded. She assisted in writing letters to relatives of the wounded and provided them with educational and recreational activities. Nightingale herself patrolled the wards at night, providing personal support and care to the patients. This earned her the title of ‘Lady with the Lamp’.

Her accomplishments in providing care and reportedly reducing the mortality rate to approximately two percent brought her fame in England in both press and through references in the soldiers’ letters.

Her efforts to formalise nursing education led her to establish the first scientifically based nursing school: the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London (opened 1860). The school formalised secular nursing education, making nursing a viable and respectable option for women, who desired employment outside of the home.

She long suffered with ‘Crimean Fever’ (most likely brucellosis) for the rest of her life and passed away in 1910. Declining a state funeral, Florence Nightingale was laid to rest in East Wellow, Hampshire following a modest service. She was escorted to her resting place by soldiers from the regiments who had served beside her in the Crimea.

The work is structured in ternary form and is designed to be an engaging concert piece, accessible to both lower and upper section bands. Minimal percussion has been used and ossia passages have been added to accommodate all levels. The music imagines Miss Nightingale walking the wards at night with the contrasting sections representing her devotion to the care of others, the struggles and sacrifice of her service, and the lasting effect of her renowned achievements that are still felt to this day.