Genre/Style: Classical/Film-Style Orchestral Suite
Creative Vision for the Track: The Death Valley Suite is a musical journey through the Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada. This suite is separated into 7 movements. It begins with the “Panamint Springs Descent,” entering the park from the west. This is followed by “Dunes of Mesquite Flat” upon seeing the sand dunes near the village of Stovepipe Wells. The 3rd movement is “Artist’s Palatte” after the mountains that have been painted with various colorful mineral deposits. Suddenly we encounter “Badwater Basin,” the lowest point in the United States at 282 feet below sea level. It is a hot salt pan that barely sees rain. But not far from this desolation are the truly unique “Pools of the Pupfish” where tiny fish dart around their river ponds, completely cut off from other aquatic life. Then we enter “Titus Canyon,” an adventurous trek which first takes us along high, serpentine ledges before plunging down into the midst of the tight canyon walls. Lastly there is a “Finale” movement which reprises themes from most of the previous movements.
Composition Details (Tempo, Key, Main Chords etc): Various Tempos/Keys/Chords
This was composed for the composer showcase competition by the Reno Pops Orchestra. One of the themes they said could be used was “desert.” So I thought why not go with the most extreme nearby desert which also happens to be partly in Nevada, and that I’ve also visited myself and have a bunch of pictures. If it wins they’ll play it in their concert next year.
Main Instruments used:
Full Orchestra, using mostly Spitfire BBCSO Core with some additional instruments from Cinesamples Musio and EastWest Hollywood Orchestra.
