Jenni Brandon: "Going to the Sun: Snapshots from Glacier National Park" for Oboe and Bassoon
Going to the Sun: Snapshots from Glacier National Park
for oboe and bassoon
by Jenni Brandon (b. 1977)- American composer
Going to the Sun for oboe and bassoon explores the beauty of Glacier National Park in Montana. Wen Jennifer Gookin Cavanaugh approached me about writing a work, she told me how much she has always loved visiting the part and that it had been a family tradition for many years. Both Jennifer and Elizabeth Ball Crawford, who premiered the work, taught at the University of Montana at the time of writing this work. I thought it fitting to write a work that highlighted the performer's close connection to the area in which they lived.
As I began to spend time with hiking books, topographical maps, and pictures taken by many visitors to the park over the years, I knew that a work about a journey through this park would be a great way to share not only Jennifer's memories, but also the many travelers on the Going to the Sun Road. Those fifty miles across the park bring the visitor in contact wit lakes, weeping walls, animals, meadows, the Continental Divide, and the power of the glacier that now moves closer and closer to extinction due to climate change.
The work is in one movement; however, it is broken into several sections. I liked the idea of telling these stories like looking back at snapshots you might take on your vacation to remind you of these natural and manmade wonders.
-Jenni Brandon