When is the last time you had a piece written just for you?
"West Coast Journey" is dedicated to our Olympic Strings Workshop students, and they'll be playing the world premiere on August 5 and 6.
Composer, Caleb Vaughn-Jones says, "This piece is a musical representation of what I think it would be like to travel from Los Angeles to Olympia. There is a prominent Latin American influence not only musical, but on the culture as a whole. Most LA residents have had a good pupusa and tamale at some point. Also, if you hang out in LA suburbs such as Alhambra and El Sereno you may hear a mariachi band or two on the weekends.
As the piece develops, the key changes and begins to have more space rhythmically. This represents the open outdoors and change of scenery as soon as you leave LA.
One of my favorite things about Washington State is Mount Rainer and the fact that you can see it from all of the surrounding towns and cities. The violin and cello solos were inspired by this view."
Students can find out more about the piece and download the sheet music on the Repertoire page.
