Sigma Alpha Iota

P A N P I P E S Winter 2021 17 17 Climbing Mountains, Composing Music For more information, visit: www.composinginthewilderness.com In July 2018, I spent a life-changing two weeks with fellow music composers as we explored the wilderness of Alaska and wrote new music about our experiences. For the past eight years, adventurer- composer and National Arts Associate Stephen Lias has led composers through this unique Composing in the Wilderness program. It is a joint venture between Alaska Geographic, The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Denali National Park, and Yukon- Charley Rivers National Preserve. All their hard work made it possible for myself and eight other composers to spend over a week in the backcountry of Alaska, then return to Fairbanks where our newly composed pieces were rehearsed and performed by the faculty musicians of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In my day-to-day life in Cincinnati I work full-time in marketing by day, and I write and perform music on evenings and weekends. To have the opportunity to focus fully on music, create new work, and make meaningful connections was a deeply rewarding experience — and it was made possible in part by being awarded a Professional Development Grant from my sisters in Sigma Alpha Iota. To quickly recap what this adventure entailed: we spent five days in Denali National Park where we were accompanied by top scientists and naturalists from Alaska Geographic and the National Park Service. There, we drew inspiration from the wildlife, geology, and scenery of our surroundings. (And luckily, there was no occasion for us to use bear spray!) We then spent three days in a secluded retreat where each of us had to quickly write a new musical composition based on our experience. The composition process was intense and stressful, but also empowering. Although we had only met a few days earlier, I found true kinship and support among the other composers. We uplifted one another when we struggled to find the right next moment for our musical pieces; we found small ways to relax and de-stress once our manuscripts were cleaned up and delivered to the musicians of Corvus, who would ultimately play our pieces at the premiere performance in Denali National Park, as well as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival programming. My piece, titled (River)ie, is a reflective piece filled with yearning that was directly inspired by the many blessings and experiences I felt during my trip. I feel immense joy to have been blessed with this experience, and sadness that the experience is over. The piece is also inspired by the Teklanika River, which flowed near the camp where we were stationed in Denali National Park. The Composing in the Wilderness program is truly unique in the world of contemporary classical music, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to grow as a composer, as a musician, and as a human being who impacts and is impacted by the wilderness around her. Kaitrin McCoy is an initiate of Sigma Beta Chapter and has received both the Sword of Honor and Collegiate Honor Awards. The 2021 Annual American Composers Update, featuring details about SAI Composers Bureau members' new publications and premieres, is available for download at: www.sai-national.org/resources/composers-bureau.html www.sai-national.org/resources/composers-bureau.html COMPOSERS

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