Southwest Sketches - Post #1
The Idea:
Throughout my degree programs, I have had several opportunities to bring original ideas to the stage in the form of arrangements. My arrangements were performed by Flutefinity and UA University Singers to great success, and my arrangement of Pajarillo brought an unmatched impact to my Junior Recital. For my capstone recital, I knew that I wanted to bring the contemporary energy that I have captured in my past projects but I did not want to stop at arranging. I had been constantly flooded with new, original ideas, and I figured that a recital of my own design was the perfect place to host them.
The Inspiration:
My idea for Southwest Sketches came from a roadtrip that I took with my fiancée through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. During this trip, I brought along my pennywhistle (a favorite of my eclectic instrument collection) and noted down some melodic ideas as they came to me. The four pieces of inspiration that stuck were White Sands National Park, the meandering roads of Northern New Mexico, the vast beauty of Colorado, and the striking impact of the Grand Canyon.
The setting sun in White Sands, New Mexico. I drew inspiration from the stillness of this place and the impact that each little footprint had on an individual’s perception of the area. There is no small disturbance when everything in sight is so uniform. I loved it here.
A fallen log over a stream which carved through the back of our campsite. We drove aimlessly through Northern New Mexico, letting intuition find us somewhere to stay. We landed here, a site we could only get to because we were in the Subaru, and it was breathtaking.
From the petroglyph trail at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. This trail seemed infinite, teeming with stories from an unknowable history. I felt humble and appreciative as I walked where they once walked.
Sunrise at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. This became my favorite place on this Earth in the very instant I reached the lookout. I am left speechless by the Canyon. I am in awe of the unimaginable history that cascades down its layered walls; the strength of the elements at their most excellent display. The Canyon is not something which I can really speak about. I tried to do the next best thing in the music I wrote for it.
Working out the Next Steps
The ideas that I drafted in these places echoed around in my mind, challenged by my doubt to remain there - a fate that many of my creative thoughts succumb to. It would take a compositional partner in the form of a new friend, the harpist Hannah Mack, to coax these ideas to life.
