Images From Colorado

Program and Notes from Ethan Booher’s Senior Recital on April 29th, 2024

Images From Colorado is a musical representation of locations I found interesting while on a trip to Colorado in July of 2023. The piece is divided into 5 movements that all showcase a different aspect of nature or human life. The 5 movements are named (in order of performance) City, Creek, Forest, Hills, and 12000ft.

City.

City represents the downtown area of Denver, Colorado. This quartet has each player playing a distinct character through their sounds. The sounds are partly “found objects” and some drums. These found objects vary between glass, metal, wood, and ceramic. Rhythmic cells make up the entire piece which leaves each player to decide how the piece unfolds. The piece will be different every time it is played.

Creek.

Creek describes the tranquil nature of the start of the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountain National Park. This piece uses sounds of water and high pitched metal objects to create a water-like atmosphere while a marimba plays warm and full chords underneath.

Forest.

Forest represents the ethereal feeling that comes with exploring off the beaten path. Piano with a delay patch and panning creates an atmosphere for the solo vibraphone to emit a shimmering haze.

Hills.

Hills represents the rolling hills on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountains. This lively piece evokes the feeling of a sweeping breeze across the hills while the delayed marimba creates a spinning effect that swirls around the hall.

12000ft.

12000ft holds emotional significance. Standing at 12000ft and seeing how large the world is brought the realization of how small humanity is and how big the Earth really is. During this final part, let the music sit with you and take in as much as you can.