Composing in the Wilderness

For centuries, composers have looked to nature for inspiration.  With adventurer-composer Stephen Lias and National Park Service soundscape scientist Davyd Betchkal, you’ll spend four days exploring the stunning beauty of Denali’s wilderness, learning how the life of the region is reflected in the sounds you hear, and developing your creative skills through translating these ideas into original chamber music.  Following our wilderness experience in Denali we will return to Fairbanks to work with top performers from the faculty of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival on our music pieces. A public performance will take place as part of the Arts Festival. Encapsulating inspiration, composition, rehearsal, and performance into a single week, this field seminar is sure to be an intensive and exhilarating creative experience. Participants should be trained composers (college students or professionals) with experience preparing their own manuscripts and writing chamber music for various instruments.  This course kicks off the first-ever Denali Music Festival with a performance on July 21st.