Mountains Rising Everywhere Concert Band - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.495001530

ISBN 9781491139684. UPC: 680160695133. 0 inches.

Mountains Rising Everywhere is a deeply personal homage to Joseph Schwantner’s "And the Mountains Rising Nowhere", which inspired the author to pursue composition after hearing it in college. Drawing on a transformative trip to Alaska with Composing in the Wilderness, the work captures the unexpected beauty of nature, from towering mountains to the delicate, intricate tundra underfoot, reminding us that adventure is often found in the most surprising places.
“Mountains Rising Everywhere” is an homage of sorts to Joseph Schwantner’s “And theMountains Rising Nowhere” which rocked my world when I heard it at age 26 in my firstcomposition class. I had played in band all the way through college, but had never heard anythinglike Schwantner’s work before. “If this is what music can be,” I said to myself, then, I want to makeit! I wrote my first composition in that class, and the rest, they say is history. When I was younger,I climbed all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000 ft. peaks and loved being on the tundra. My favorite dayswere those spent on a mountain where I didn’t see anyone all day long, and Schwanter’s musicreally captured some of those favorite experiences. Being on the tundra, and alone is, to this day,one of my favorite places to be. So when I had the chance to go to Alaska, my second to last state, Ijumped at it! I knew I would see mountains rising everywhere, especially going on an adventurewith Composing in the Wilderness, and I was not disappointed. The bush plane flight into PortAlsworth and Lake Clark National Park was through one of the most striking glaciered mountainpasses imaginable. There was something new, and wonderful about being in a place that can onlybe arrived at in a plane! And then, a float plane took us deeper into Lake Clark National Park fora six-day adventure with hiking and kayaking. As the plane flew away, the feeling of being at aplace few others had ever been on Lower Tazimina Lake was wonderful and exhilarating. I gotthat pit in my stomach I used to get when heading off at a trail-head to summit a mountain. Therewas no camping where they dropped us, so we inflated the kayaks and paddled for an hour and ahalf until our guide found a suitable place to camp. I was expecting the grand views of mountainsand glaciers, and Alaska did not disappoint, but the miniature landscape of lichens and tundraplants at our first camp site were took me by complete surprise. With each step, I felt like I wastrampling upon a miniature Pandora-esque civilization. It was one of the most intricate, delicate,and yet resilient landscapes I have ever seen. Each morning when I opened my tent, I wassurprised to see that it had snowed, only to realize that “snow” is the natural color of CaribouLichen, a primary occupant of the tundra carpet of Alaska. So, on a trip where I expected my gazeto constantly be upward and summit-focused, I was pleasantly surprised to be constantlyenthralled with what was under my feet. And so, with mountains rising everywhere, I enjoyedmostly, the intimacy of the miniature plant life underfoot. If adventure is encountering theunexpected, well, this experience with Composing in the Wilderness came through in a most themost novel and magical way.