Desert Sketches

Desert Sketches is based on my experiences in one of the most influential places in my life: Joshua Tree National Park. Located in the central/inland part of Southern California, Joshua Tree is split by the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The Mojave side of the park, which is where I’ve spent the majority of my time, is characterized by a mix of rock-clad hills/small mountains and flatlands covered in dry shrubs and yucca plants (including a great abundance of the Joshua Tree, after which the park is named).

My absolute favorite features of Joshua Tree are the massive rock formations that jut out from the desert floor. Almost every year since I was in middle school, my friends and I would venture out to the desert, each time testing our limits at scaling these giant boulder piles. I eventually got to the point where I can fly up the formations with relative ease and fearlessness, jumping across gaps, shimmying up and down tall crevices, and being able to quickly judge the best way to navigate the rocks. I would keep climbing and climbing until I reached the highest point, and whenever I got there, it was a surreal moment of peace. The stillness of everything, the beautiful expanse of desert and mountain ridges as far as the eye could see, a silence only broken by the fleeting wind. For me it’s always a reward worth the work, the introspection of being alone in a place of such natural wonder.

This piece represents just one of the ways that I have and will continue to musically interpret Joshua Tree. The first movement is the exciting, treacherous climb and the second is the grand, yet peaceful view of the desert from the top.