Trade Winds consists of three "sketches," as the composer notes in her title. But in fact, these three sections make the piece a kind of "suite." The work is like several other Coulthard wrote between 1979 and 1989, most of them in three sections or "movements." Coulthard wrote sonatas for most solo instruments between 1946 and 1997. But after about 1975, even as she continued to write in that general form, Coulthard sometimes wanted to be freed of certain of the requirements of sonata form. Where the Trade Winds Blow ( like all the other "suites" written 1979-1989) shows how Coulthard made use of her freedom, but remembering always to keep her musical themes and subjects audible and enjoyable.