scenes from the bitterroot

On a summer morning, I sat outside looking at the mountains of Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. This valley is visually stunning with panoramic views of the Rockies. As I sat quietly, I was struck by the sounds of birds coming at me from every direction, and I began to feel a personal and spiritual connection to them.

Each section of this work depicts a different scene taken from the extraordinary beauty of the Bitterroot. The opening scene and its variations are rough transcriptions of the birdsong I heard amidst passing summer storms. The middle scene paints the sounds of night and the following sunrise. Finally, the climax represents a flock of birds in formation as they flew against the sunset, and two birds sing to each other in the ending duet.

Instrumentation: Picc., 2 Fl., 2 Ob., 3 Cl., Bs. Cl., Cb. Cl. (Opt. Ca. Cl.), Bsn., Cbsn. (Opt.), Sop. Sx., 2 Alt. Sx., Ten. Sx., Bar. Sx., 3 Tpt., 4 Hn., 2 Tbn., Bs. Tbn., Euph., Tba., Dbl. Bs., Timp., 4+ Perc.