Rivers of Air

“How infinitely superior to our physical senses are those of the mind! The spiritual eye sees not only rivers of water but of air. …imagination gives us the sweet music of tiniest insect wings, enables us to hear, all round the world, the vibration of every needle, the waving of every bole and branch, the sound of stars in circulation like particles in the blood. Indeed, the power of imagination makes us infinite.” - John Muir

As a composer, I often imagine the soundtrack to my surroundings — especially while hiking in the beauty of mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers. The crisp whisper of wind through pine needles, the babbling of a glacial river, and the stoic quietness of old growth trees exude vivid aural colors, always available to the curious listener. But it is the mind’s ear that can take these sounds and scenes and imagine them into stories and symphonies. In “Rivers of Air,” I endeavored to capture the scenery and experience of hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington while creating my own imagined story. Visions of expansive mountain ranges from thousands of feet in the air, the rushing Nisqually River, and the profound sacredness of old growth trees guided me as I wrote. In an age when humans seem to be continuously separating ourselves from the earth and from each other, Muir’s words remind us to listen deeply to all that is around us; and in that listening, we too can see (and hear) our own rivers of air.

*Featured in Teaching Music through Performance in Band - Volume 12*