As the lights dimmed in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center on Oct. 10, members of the audience awaited the beginning of the Monday Series Concert, “National Park Soundscapes.” Composer Jill Haley, playing the oboe and piano, welcomed the audience to the performance and cued up a slideshow of photos and videos that corresponded to each of the twelve songs. Along with fellow musicians David Cullen, Chico Huff and Gavin Horning, Haley transported listeners to national parks across the country.
Haley’s love for the history and nature in the parks is clear through her music, but visiting and writing music about national parks is a relatively new part of her music career.
“I started maybe about 15 years ago,” Haley said while thinking back on her first visit. “I went with my husband, David [Cullen]. We went to Yosemite, and then we went to Glacier, and after I was at Glacier in Montana, I thought it was so beautiful that I decided to come home and just write some music.”
A few years later after releasing some park-inspired music, Haley was told about the national park artist-in-residency program. It is a competitive process, but she has been accepted to several over the past few years, including Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Acadia National Park in Maine.
While at the parks, Haley does a lot of hiking and exploring. She often has an electronic keyboard with her to work on some basic harmonies and melodies. She finds the process to be very intuitive. While many of the songs she writes are on location, some are written when she returns home. These are based on the photos, videos and memories of the park that left an impression on her.
The music and visuals in the concert transported listeners into the parks. Many of the songs written about the same location seemed to have similar moods and motifs, creating a unique sound specific for each national park.
Some of the songs were upbeat and cheery, and others, like “Shenandoah Stillness,” featured a calmer and more peaceful melody.
Senior music therapy major Lizvette Pappaterra’s favorite song was “Western Meadow Lark.” It started with a call-and-response between the oboe and guitar.
“They had little solos back and forth, and it sounded like a bird,” Pappaterra said.
The audience was swept away in the music. Haley had requested no applause between pieces so the music could flow seamlessly together, and it was difficult to not praise such a delightful performance.
“There was some really beautiful music. I thought it was all very relaxing, and I really enjoyed the slideshow of the national parks,” Pappaterra said.
Haley believes it takes equal measures of talent, hard work and luck to succeed as a musician. It’s also important to not neglect the business side of things.
“Be ready, if you want to do this kind of thing, to not only be proficient and talented at your instrument, but also be willing to do just the hard yucky work, which is music business,” she said.
Overall, Haley believes musicians should enjoy their musical experiences, and her enjoyment was very clear as she performed for the Elizabethtown College community.
“It was a real pleasure to bring the music to Elizabethtown,” Haley said.
As the applause died down and the lights came back up in Leffler, the audience slowly made their way back to the lobby and into the night, carrying the national parks experience with them.
Haley has released eight national park recordings, all of which can be found on her website, jillhaley.com. She will also be performing some of her park-inspired music with the York Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 12.
