Corvallis composer turns passion about the Oregon Trail into symphonic music
by Timothy Scott Misner
Corvallis, OR
The Oregon Trail has been my obsession for five years now. I’ve read just about everything I could get my hands on regarding this topic; history books, emigrant diaries, coffee table photographic journals, internet websites, you name it.
You see, I am a music composer with a strong interest in our history. By combining my two passions, history and music, I fulfilled a burning desire to capture in symphonic music all the romance, hardships, danger and excitement of the Oregon Trail experience
My orchestral suite is entitled “Sketches from the Oregon Trail”. It consists of ten short movements with titles such as the introductory Sunrise on an Open Prairie, followed by Buckskins and Bonnets, Hoedown at Independence Rock, A Campfire Lullaby, Early Snowfall in the Blue Mountains, the Endless Barlow Road and finally OREGON! The Promised Land. Each movement seeks to depict a particular aspect of the Oregon Trail story.
Reading books informs one about the Oregon Trail yet nothing can take the place of actually traveling it. My obsession with the Oregon Trail compelled me to take that journey. In the summer of 2007, my fifteen year-old son joined me on the trip between Independence, Missouri and Oregon City, Oregon. This ten-day road trip adventure covered more than 2,000 miles of endless prairie, highland deserts and rugged mountain ranges. Traveling the Oregon Trail instilled a much deeper sense of understanding and reverence for the pioneers — including some of my ancestors. It was a once in a lifetime experience to see, hear, smell and feel what the varied landscapes were like, and to experience how great a distance the emigrants traveled over the course of five or six months. And the prize they sought, a new start on a piece of Oregon land, turns out to be the same thing I sought 15 years ago when I arrived in Corvallis.
People have asked, “Why did you undertake the task of chronicling this epic story into music?” Well, the simple answer is that this work willed itself into existence through me. This symphonic story needed to exist. This inspired expression of creativity knew it would bring joy to Oregonians and many others.
“Sketches from the Oregon Trail” premiered with the Willamette Valley Community Orchestra on November 8th and 9th in Albany and Corvallis, Oregon. Public response was overwhelming. Audience members literally thanked me for creating it. It is as if they felt that it filled some huge void for them. Needless to say, I was very pleased.
Oregon is truly a beautiful state with a unique history. My goal- my dream is for the Oregon Symphony to perform this uniquely Oregon work in its entirety for the Oregon Sesquintennial Celebration. I composed this work as an offering to the people of Oregon and elsewhere. The movements allow us to take a musical journey on the Oregon Trail together, and on this journey, be reminded of our special past — a past that may be enjoyed forever.
