
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVERIE
A Musical Odyssey Through Colorado
May 12th, 2025; Hamilton Recital Hall @ The Lamont School of Music (7:30 pm)
365d
24h
60m
60s
What is "Rocky Mountain Reverie"?
“Rocky Mountain Reverie - A Musical Odyssey Through Colorado” is a captivating, emotional, and intense suite of music composed to celebrate the diverse and breathtaking landscapes, cultures, experiences, and people that define the great, beautiful, & powerful state of Colorado.
-
Many historical, cultural, and political topics are covered throughout this suite, everything from the native american tribes that inhabited the land of Colorado, progressive ideologies, the Wild West, gold mining, tourism, and much more. This is the culmination of nearly two years of composing, arranging, orchestrating, & engraving to produce a pure, honest, and elegant dedication to what makes the colorful state of Colorado so special. This body of work is a true and honest musical testament to Gavin’s experience as a Colorado native weaving in & out of the unique and multifaceted tapestry called Colorado.
-
Thank you to the sponsorship, collaboration, promotion, & support from Fairly Errant Sound, Lan Vo Photography, the Longmont Concert Band, Denver Rock Orchestra, Colorado Repertory Jazz Orchestra (CJRO), Bill Wilkinson and the Longmont All-Star Jazz Band, The Lamont Society, Metropolitan Arts Academy, Denver Chamber Orchestra, Rocky Mountain Christian Academy (RMCA), KXDU, all of the students, alumni, and faculty of the Lamont School of Music who helped this dream become a reality especially: Ryan Kilgroe, Kalen Solcomb, Jake Boldman, Ana Vashkmadze, Gabe Mervine, Zach Rich, Adam Gang, Gabriel Santiago, & Ian Wisekal. Much appreciation and thanks to members of the Colorado music scene and others' generosity and support in the research, and support, of this body of work including Aakash Mittal, Doug Carmichael, Alex Loran, Carmen Sandim, Maggie Watson &. Finally, this wouldn't have been able to come close to a reality if it weren't for the friends and family of Gavin Worland.
-
Some of the musical and compositional inspirations for this body of music include the following artists and ensembles:
Nu Deco Ensemble, Nelson Riddle, Annie Booth, Zach Rich, Steven Feifke, Rachael Eckroth, Aakash Mittal, The BABAorchestra, Jim McNeely, WDR Big Band, HR Big Band, Metropole Orkest, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows, Vice Mendoza, Erica Seguine, Art Lande, University of Northern Colorado's Flex Ensemble, Gabriel Santiago's Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, Mike Holober & The Gothan Jazz Orchestra & Ron Miles.
Each Piece, A Different Story...
1.) "Sunrise Over Cliff Dwellings" - Worland
Liner Notes:
Meant serve as an introduction to what lies ahead, this piece encapsulates the beauty of a Rocky Mountain Sunrise, the vibrant colors, intense sunlight beaming beyond the peaks, and the dawn of a new day, literally. Much of the inspiration for this composition is rooted in the Mesa Verde region of Colorado with the feeling of waking up and being ready to take on the adventure of traversing the many terrains and areas of the state.
With a drone setting the scene initially, this piece motivically develops with the entire ensemble supporting passing melodies. The main 4-note ostinato head throughout the introduction is the number "5280" translated into the key of C (for Colorado), so the notes are the 5th of C, the 2nd of C, and then two octaves resembling the 8th and 0/ 1. The Flugelhorn & Alto lead the charge with changing colors of harmony behind them.
Finally, we get a McCoy Tyner-inspired modal groove letting Flugelhorn, Alto, & vibes lead the way with a spacious melody and tasteful backgrounds utilizing upper extension triads and different pairings of quartal voicings to harmonize and give different harmonic colors as the piece evolves. Throughout this section of the piece, there is a powerful, and unmistakable dance-like quality to it that allows the piece to evolve and allows other groups of instruments to interject easily.
As a conclusion to this suite's beginning, we go back to the "5280" quote with a very "orchestral" feeling being reinstated to the ensemble before the classic suspended to major tonic resolution at the end as the musical voices of the ensemble fade away after an exciting "morning" on this new day of new music.
-
Poem: “Closely” - Watson
Beyond the great divide,
Deep into the roaring wild,
Softness drags through the air
Like a dancer, swaying slowly,
Stretching towards the heavens
To sigh.
Sunlight drizzles
Across the horizon,
Sweeping into the valleys
With outstretched palms,
Painting the world
Yellow.
Breathing deeply are
The lungs of the forest.
Beneath the soil are
Memories, and
Beneath the memories
Is yet to be unearthed.
But look closely.
Watch as
Sweet wisdom spills
From elden trunks like honey.
Nestled into the jagged cliffs,
Sandstone scratches
Out into the morning,
Secrets rattling between the cracks.
For, if you listen closely,
You’ll hear their voices,
Whispering wishes into the wind.
If you listen closely,
You’ll start to recognize
What might have once been.
3.) "The Black Diamond" - Worland
Liner Notes:
The feeling of skiing/ snowboarding down a fast slope up in the mountains is unmistakable and unlike anything else—the sense of power, and freedom, yet at the mercy of gravity and mother nature.
Letting the drummer set the scene with a brushes solo at the very beginning of the piece before soft tutti hits (inspired by the Neal Hefit composition "Cute") enter to accompany and lead to a conclusion of the drum solo. Before leading into a fiery fast swung contrafact over the rhythm changes chord progression.
-
Poem: “Watch Me” - Watson
Screaming.
Soaring.
Sailing.
Watch me.
I slash through the snow like
A bird of flight, a spectacle
Shooting into the everlasting white.
Watch me.
I carve through the mountain
Like no one that came before,
I cut through winter and come
Knocking at your door.
Watch me.
Through the endless Rockies,
Beneath a blanket of clouds,
I cleave into the ice, and hope
The spirits hear my piercing shouts.
Watch me.
Because up here,
Beyond worry and care,
I seem to be someone
Who always dares.
Watch me.
5.) "Into Rain" - Kilgroe/ Worland
Liner Notes:
When asked to compose a piece for RMR, I envisioned something unique. I wanted to create something new–something unheard. I wanted to engage the audience in a way that sticks out within the context of the RMR program.
Into Rain, intended to be a transition from beauty to despair, explores musical ideas that from both modern and timeless influences. My hope is to leave you, the audience, on the edge of your seats eager for what’s to come with a sense of contentment as to where you’ve already been taken.
-
Poem:
7.) "Rivers Of Time" - Worland
Liner Notes:
After being inspired by Haven's voice, making sure there was a chance to embrace the rich traditions of bluegrass and country music was a no-brainer on this piece.
-
Poem:
9.) "The Lightbearers" - Worland
Liner Notes:
Quite literally, this piece is in tribute to folks within the music community of Colorado who have laid the foundation for all of us today. Folks like Fred Hess, Paul Whiteman, Greg Gisbert, Bill Frissel, Clare Church, Pete Lewis, Eric Gunnison, Freddie Rodriguez, Ken Walker, Eric "Benny" Bloom, Mark Harris, Annie Booth, Joe Keel, Elyn Rucker, Gabe Mervine, Dianne Reeves, Hugh Ragin, Jimmie Lunceford, Nelson Rangell, Bob Montgomery, Keith Oxman, Dominic Lalli, Dale Bruning, Brad Goode, Tia Fuller, Purnell Steen, Peter Olstad, Will Swindler, Art Lande, Charlie Burrel, and Ron Miles.
These are just some of the musical pioneers who blazed their trails while enabling and helping to bring up the next generations with them simultaneously.
Lead by a flugelhorn melody, this piece is heavily inspired by the compositions of mentors Gavin, such as Art Lande and Ron Miles. The tempo and time are there, but it is fluid, everyone is in a place of collaboration and musical storytelling. As Art Lande says, "Allow for the music to breathe and let everyone's voices be heard". One musical trait of Art & Ron's music is how simple and meaningful they are, almost like it's a folk song the elders sing to the young. There is a feeling of familiarity and peace in their compositions even if you had never heard them before.
As this piece develops, improvisation and space become key components of this piece as an homage to the compositions of Ron and Art begin to shed light in this work of Gavin's.
-
Poem: - Watson
Embrace the earth’s aching palms.
Let your cold bones soften against
Her simmering heart, and watch
The sun settle right beyond the hills.
Gasp for her rich mountain air,
Race across her open, glittering fields,
And tumble through her valleys,
Letting the soft grass
Peak between your toes
And lick at your shins.
Listen to her rustle,
Listen to her sing.
And when she caresses you once more,
Let her cradle your limp form as
You wail into the night.
11.) "Sublimity In The 5280" - Worland
Liner Notes:
This piece is a testament to the perseverance, stubbornness, and pride that Coloradans have in where they live. A great sense of hope and optimism for the future permeates through this conclusive piece where there are some "new" and exotic harmonic things happening here and there. As I call it, "ear candy" others might refer to it as "wild Jacob Collier stuff"!
The saying is "too many people are moving here and congesting I-25" but, it simply is just a saying. The people of Colorado have been nothing but loving and open to anyone and everyone whether you've lived here your whole life or new to the altitude!
This piece is meant to encapsulate that feeling while paying homage to those listed above and some of the music that has made the scene here so popular with bands such as "One Republic," "Lettuce," "The Motet," Umphreys McGee's," and others.
Starting everything off is a...
By the end of this piece, we are in "epic orchestral mode", letting the sunset happen as we have concluded our adventure through the state of Colorado. By now, our Traveller understands what makes this state what it is and the epic beauty and grandeur the different landscapes this state has in their own ways. No, it is far from perfect, especially historically but, it's the people and places of Colorado that make it the slice of heaven that we are lucky to live in.
-
Poem: “Flightless Bird” - Watson
Matted hair, filthy hands,
And a pilling, leather-bound copy of the bible,
Which I’ve never read.
Shuffling boots, scraping across asphalt,
Stumbling down allies and prodding through bustling streets.
Magazine clippings brimming from my red pleather purse,
Fingerprints cluttering the lenses of my bent, wire sunglasses,
And the faint taste of rubber and old spirits crowding my mouth.
A flightless bird, I stagger,
Faltering out into the day.
2.) "Traveler" - Santiago/ Worland
Liner Notes:
With permission from Mr. Gabriel Santiago, this piece is placed second within the program to musically convey that the listener is the "Traveler" about to embark on their journey throughout the state of Colorado. The feeling of optimism and wonder of what lies ahead and who knows what you might discover on your journey today.
Throughout this composition, you will continue to hear an offbeat rhythmic pattern that is the lifeblood of this piece and carries everything as the harmony morphs with anticipation for the grandiose finale. A feeling of anticipation and excitement leads to an overwhelming feeling of joy and relief of "this is where I'm supposed to be".
Both Gabriel and Gavin solo on this piece over the same chord progression but with vastly different backgrounds and energy levels behind them. After the final solo, the chromatic mediant-based chord progression is in full effect ensemble-wide before Gabriel and Gavin trade choruses of improvisation over the same chord progression.
For more information on Gabriel Santiago visit: https://www.gabrielsantiagoproject.com/
-
Poem: "Crowd the Silence" - Watson
Often,
When I am lonely and bitter,
My heart fissures open and leaves
A garden of chrysanthemums
In its wake.
It is usually my lungs that go next,
Filling with panic,
Spilling over
And flooding my
Abdomen with black, black, black.
And to the swirling world around me,
I succumb.
To the piercing greed and ravenging
Fists, I fall.
Nowhere is closer than somewhere
And I am far too tired to trek.
So I drag myself inside my lungs,
The violent ocean of black,
Hoping the waters will keep me warm.
And like a fly in the drain,
Mangled by the rusted pipes,
I thrash and thrash and thrash,
Buzzing until I crowd the silence.
4.) "Plainsong Serenade" - Worland
Liner Notes:
The Eastern Plains of Colorado might be one of the
This composition begins with some open voicings on the piano, setting the scene for the vast openness of the plains. Light woodwind solos begin being dispersed sparingly while overlapping with one another. This is meant to resemble the flow of wheat blowing in the wind or the feeling of wind turbines seamlessly slicing through the air. These solos continue behind the melody being played by Trombone, an instrument that has great meaning to the area since Glenn Miller was raised in Fort Morgan, CO after moving here from Missouri at a young age. While the trombone melody glides through the texture the sounds of the wildlife from the plains make their voices heard. The birds, the rattlesnakes, the cattle, and everything inbetween seep their way into the texture of this piece.
Being heavily inspired by composers such as Maria Schneider, Mike Holober, and others, this piece evolves into a harmonically sophisticated landscape where textures within the ensemble vary wildly from extrmely thin to extremely dense. Trombone acts as our "main character" traveling through the plains showing the listener all of the things that make the plains what they are, especially how crucial that area of Colorado is to the nation but to the rest of the state as well.
-
Poem: “Setting Sun” - Watson
Just like you,
I find solitude in the crest of dawn,
Washing over the horizon
In a blanket of auburn and dusty pink.
Just like you,
I stumble into the morning
Barefoot and hungry, and let
The fog sweep me into the
Fields of columbines and clovers.
Just like you,
I tangle in the grasses
With foreign lovers,
While reality rises slowly
Through the faint morning.
I distract myself until the world turns sour,
Shriveling up like a putrid fruit
Left to spoil on the counter.
Just like you,
I weep when the cattle
I raised are gray and lown,
Eyes bulging, reflecting
A sky they no longer
Called their own.
Just like you,
I clench the rotted oak
Of my childhood barn and
Press my fingers into
The decay,
Warring off change,
Fending off money.
But slowly, the fire catches me,
And ash falls through the sky
Like the rain I’ve so longed to see.
So,
Just like you,
I collapse on the barren ground
And watch the sun set.
6.) "Once Every 1000 Years" - Worland
Liner Notes:
After living through the 2013 floods firsthand and being familiar with wildfires, this piece had those two main things at the center of the inspiration. While I have a personal tie to this piece, historically, this piece can convey feelings about the Sand Creek Massacre or the Japanese Internment Camps.
This composition starts with "rain" being depicted ensemble-wide by nearly every instrument. As the introduction progresses, the rain gets harder and more frequent, mimicking the sound and feeling of the start of an intense rainstorm. By the time the groove comes in, it's pouring, an absolute downpour is taking place sonically and the listener must brace for impact for what is about to happen...
Leading the way is a distorted electric guitar line that gives us this raw and menacing feeling of uncertainty and impending doom for the destruction about to be unleashed.
Being heavily inspired by rock/ metal bands such as "Dream Theater", "Animals As Leaders", "Metallica", "Type 0 Negative", and others, this piece is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Whether it's piercing harmonies or disjunct rhythms.
-
Poem: “What A Sight” - Watson
The forest retreats
As its tender flowers
Wither beneath a thrashing flame,
Weeping out into the wild night.
Wild embers scatter across the woods
And paint the blood moon orange.
The fire gnaws at the ancient forest,
A rabid creature capturing its prey,
Bones and all.
Rain sizzles in thick sheets of crimson,
Crying out as smoke explodes
Into the cosmos.
Only the unfortunate suffer so beautifully.
The world keeps crumbling
Into my begging hands,
And I hold the pieces close.
Ash begins to fall,
And darkness slowly spills
Into the simmering night.
8.) "Golden Ponds & Twin Peaks" - Worland
Liner Notes:
Centered around two defining pieces of what makes my hometown, Longmont, Colorado, such a special place. Nestled at the foot of the Rockies, at just under 5,000 ft above sea level, sits a town that has origins in the late 1800s with Chicago-based businessmen moving as a part of the westward expansion. The quaint town of Longmont suddenly becomes a hot spot for new people moving to Colorado, and the historic downtown Longmont is born. Our main street isn't just any usual Main Street; it's a national highway (US287)! So you can go from Laramie, WY to south Denver on the same road while cutting through the most historic and popular part of town.
This composition is a culmination of beauty, peace, and reminiscence of what Longmont was and where it's headed with the future of Longmont already being built. Centered around the voicing (1-2-5-7), this piece was recognized as one that can be extremely maluable to shift between a wide array of tonal and harmonic centers. By doing this, the music evokes an extremely colorful sound to it.
For additional history on Longmont, please visit: https://longmontcolorado.gov/museum/historic-collections/history-of-longmont/
-
Poem: “Throwing Pennies Into the Dark”- Watson
The sun slips behind the
Shadow of the mountains and
I whisper cheap professions
Into the dusk,
Reminding myself that
Day crests from night,
Light seeps from darkness,
And the good can only ever emerge from
The bad.
Careless copper coins clatter into the clambering waters.
With blackened fingers,
I toss another penny into the lake
And watch it flounder towards
The bottom,
Sinking slowly beneath the trembling waters.
My words ebb at the edge of the pond,
Thrashing against the moss.
But slowly,
Lurching through the dark,
My wishes will triumph, rising languidly,
Climbing into the light.
10.) "Without A Name" - Mittal/ Worland
Liner Notes:
This piece is from the pen of saxophone maestro and composer Aakash Mittal. Off of his 2015 album "Ocean" featuring the late, great Ron Miles. Mittal aims to highlight the use of the melodic cue.
Starting with an open/ free drum solo, using brushes, this sets the mood for the piece with feelings of questioning, wonder, and incoming splendor, with a longing to know what has just begun will soon come to an end.
For more information about Aakash Mittal please visit:
-
Poem: - Watson
Poem
Instrumentation of the Rocky Mountain Reverie:
- (2) Oboe; English horn doubles
- (2) Bass Clarinet in Bb; 1contrabass double
- (5) Multi-Reeds: two soprano sax., 2 flutes, 2 clarinet doubles
- (2) Bassoons; 1 contrabasson double
-
- (4) French Horn in F
- (6) Trumpets/ Flugelhorns w/ Bucket, Cup, Plunger & Straight mutes (1 feature)
- (4) Trombone w/ Bucket, Cup, Plunger & Straight mutes; 1 bass trombone double
- (1) Tuba in C
-
- Spoken Word
- Vocals; w/ background vocals
- (1) Acoustic Guitar; w/ effects
- (1) Electric Guitar; w/ effects
- (1) Acoustic Grand Piano; w/ synthesizer parts
- (1) Upright/ Electric Bass
- (1) Drum Set (sticks, brushes, mallets)
- (3) Auxiliary/ Orchestral Percussion; ()
-
- (10) Violin
- (6) Viola
- (6) Cello
- (2) Contrabass