| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
Bushwhack (2022)
Bushwhack (2022)
written for the Composing in the Wilderness Fellowship and the ensemble Corvus
(Flute, Bb Clarinet, Violin, Cello)
3 minutes
In July 2022 I participated in the Composing in the Wilderness Fellowship. Founded and led by adventurer/composer Stephen Lias, and in collaboration with Alaska Geographic, the annual program brings nine composers to Denali National Park in Alaska to spend time hiking and learning from National Park field guides about the animals, geology, and flaura and fauna of the Park. Near the end of the two-week program, the composers all compose works inspired by their time in the park and the pieces are performed by the new music ensemble Corvus as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.
During my time in July 2022, one of the first lessons we learned about the Park was that, while Denali has a few designated trails, most of the Park is trail-less. So our first true hike up a small mountain in Denali required making our own path and bushwhacking our way through thick brush, over squishy and damp (semi) permafrost ground, all while trying to avoid grizzly bears and moose. We traversed up the mountain and when we reached the top, I went alone to stand on a slightly higher rock outcropping at the summit. I almost immediately noticed a short staccato tweet of a bird to my right somewhere in the trees in the valley below (found out later from one of our guides that it was a white-crowned sparrow). After a few seconds I heard the same kind of chirp, but to my left. And then the two birds began a conversation, which since I was centered between them, the calls were stereo pinging between my left and right ears, and delightedly out of phase with each other. That whimsical moment was the first musical inspiration for what became my composition “Bushwhack.”
written for the Composing in the Wilderness Fellowship and the ensemble Corvus
(Flute, Bb Clarinet, Violin, Cello)
3 minutes
In July 2022 I participated in the Composing in the Wilderness Fellowship. Founded and led by adventurer/composer Stephen Lias, and in collaboration with Alaska Geographic, the annual program brings nine composers to Denali National Park in Alaska to spend time hiking and learning from National Park field guides about the animals, geology, and flaura and fauna of the Park. Near the end of the two-week program, the composers all compose works inspired by their time in the park and the pieces are performed by the new music ensemble Corvus as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.
During my time in July 2022, one of the first lessons we learned about the Park was that, while Denali has a few designated trails, most of the Park is trail-less. So our first true hike up a small mountain in Denali required making our own path and bushwhacking our way through thick brush, over squishy and damp (semi) permafrost ground, all while trying to avoid grizzly bears and moose. We traversed up the mountain and when we reached the top, I went alone to stand on a slightly higher rock outcropping at the summit. I almost immediately noticed a short staccato tweet of a bird to my right somewhere in the trees in the valley below (found out later from one of our guides that it was a white-crowned sparrow). After a few seconds I heard the same kind of chirp, but to my left. And then the two birds began a conversation, which since I was centered between them, the calls were stereo pinging between my left and right ears, and delightedly out of phase with each other. That whimsical moment was the first musical inspiration for what became my composition “Bushwhack.”
© 2022 Numen Music/BMI All Rights Reserved
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Mark Elzey, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Kang, Carolyn Wolf, Mark Elzey, Karen Wise, Numinosito. The Numinous Changing Same album design artwork by DM Stith. The Numinous The Grey Land album design and artwork by Brock Lefferts. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.