Books
Piano and Poems for the National Parks Southwestern United States. Our book is a celebration of our national parks in their many forms and sizes. For over a century, the national parks of the United States have provided people with a space to explore, grow, learn, and be inspired. With its national parks, monuments, preserves, historic parks, memorials, seashores, and many others, our National Park system is a national treasure encompassing the natural wonders, marvels of history, and cultural expanse of our country. We are particularly inspired by the beauty of nature and its flora and fauna, and, so, we present poems and piano compositions to match our inspiration. In this first book, we have selected ten parks from the southwestern United States. We hope you are as inspired as we are by our national parks.
Our book will be available Summer 2025 as a comb-bound print edition on Amazon or in ebook version via Kindle.
Sheet Music
Sheet music is available for purchase through Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus (Hal Leonard) websites.
The Valley of Death – We visited Death Valley National Park shortly after some historic rainfall; rock, sand, and boulders had flowed onto the roads. Water was still running off from the rain, and, in the winter sun, the runoff glistened like silver threads. It was still hot at midday, and the land felt parched and barren. We tried to capture that harshness, but tempered by the push and pull of the natural cycle, a melody with both mystery and uncertainty, dissonant and open harmonies. Rondo form reinforces the cyclical nature of life, and the changing tempos reflect calmness and hopefulness but also vulnerability and tension.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Elemental – Watching volcanoes erupt is simply amazing. In Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, all of the elements are involved: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Nature is a force to be reckoned with, and we tried to capture the dance, the intertwining of the elements in this process of creation. To capture this dance, the melody, rhythm, and bass line have constant movement, driving the flow of the piece with a sense of urgency and purpose. The hopeful melody reminds us of the beauty in the power that lies just beneath the surface.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Silent Sentinels – The giant sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park are immense; we felt so tiny standing next to them. Attempting to describe the magnitude of these trees across space and time felt daunting in their presence. We took the position of the trees, how they saw life as it passed, to achieve a feeling of grandeur. The music had to be majestic and noble, so we used open fifth harmonies to create this feeling and mood. During much of our visit, thick fog enveloped the woodland, wrapping the trees in a blanket. The melody is our picture of this blanket giving cover and comfort to the mighty sequoias.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Stuck on You – We knew there were many different kinds of cacti, but a visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument opened our eyes to the varied personalities each type of cactus expresses: some stately, some playful, some shy. We imbued each cactus with its own unique traits, making it fun to interact with their idiosyncratic ways. The song is contemplative, exploring the uniqueness of each cactus – so many differences, so much beauty, perfectly adapted to the desert. What’s our favorite? What’s your favorite? Looking closely, the cacti display an amazing beauty with their form, their spines, their stunning array of flowers.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Highway in the Heavens – We knew there were many different kinds of cacti, but a visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument opened our eyes to the varied personalities each type of cactus expresses: some stately, some playful, some shy. We imbued each cactus with its own unique traits, making it fun to interact with their idiosyncratic ways. The song is contemplative, exploring the uniqueness of each cactus – so many differences, so much beauty, perfectly adapted to the desert. What’s our favorite? What’s your favorite? Looking closely, the cacti display an amazing beauty with their form, their spines, their stunning array of flowers.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Serenity – This is all about the iconic Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park. On our first visit, we arrived later in the afternoon. The low winter sun cast soft, warming rays across the landscape, a landscape covered in Joshua trees seemingly just doing their own thing, growing in different shapes at different angles. For us, the haiku was different as well, an attempt to capture what we were feeling. Flowing patterns and single melody lines in the song paint the colors of the setting sun on the Joshua trees – blues, golds, oranges. The trees sing their lullabies with hushed voices that sometimes rise in intensity for the listeners. As the sun sets, the Joshua trees gently say, “Goodnight.”
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Watching – As we entered the Merced River valley in mid-Autumn, it smelled like Christmas with all the evergreens, and the deciduous trees scattered about still had some of their color, reminding us of Christmas ornaments. On the high ridges and mountain overlooks, we marveled at what we could see. We felt that not only were we looking at Yosemite National Park, but it was looking back at us. This song captures the happy feelings of the holidays through joyful melodies with rhythmic accompaniment, reminiscing about the beauty in our lives.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Flight of the Ladybugs – We made many visits to Capulin Volcano National Monument, and we found the life cycle of the ladybugs simply fascinating. In each season, there was something different, from the snows of winter to the thunderstorms of summer. The ladybugs were fun to watch as they scurried or strolled along the leaves and flowers of their little ecosystem, and we remembered from childhood the adage that if a ladybug lands on you, you will have good luck. It’s something we still believe, and these ladybugs have brought luck to those they have touched on their journey. Close your eyes and imagine a ladybug landing on you. The music will guide you through this story.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Chaco, Oh, Chaco! – The Chaco Culture is truly remarkable. Hundreds of years before the Europeans, the Chaco Culture had tracked and could predict the movement of the sun, the Earth, and the moon, and they had bult a great trading empire to boot. Chaco Culture National Historical Park showcases their achievements. What was life like then, what were the Chaco thinking, feeling? What we do know is they were seeing the same stars as we did, and the dark sky status of the park makes for splendid viewing of the Milky Way. How do we honor this sacred place? The melody in the song tells our story of how we felt contemplating the Chaco and looking up at the stars at night.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Video streaming on YouTube.
Whisper – TAs we drove the sandy trails into some of the remote areas of Mojave National Preserve, we found the wind whispering through the grasses and rock formations, providing the inspiration for our work. The flowing bass line in the song is the wind that continues to swirl and lift us up while the melody sings the words, “whisper, whispering, whispered,” repeating and echoing throughout the song as a reminder that Nature has a message for us if we listen closely.
Available at Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.