 Denali National Park, Alaska
The day is cold. Below a high bluff, a braided river winds through the valley beneath breaking clouds. Near a quiet fire, a small band of hunter-gatherers watches from their ancient camp. The flames flicker across their faces as mammoths appear—slow, immense, and ancient—moving steadily across the open riverbed. The young hunters grip their spears, eager to prove themselves. But an elder speaks, cutting through the tension: “Today, we will not hunt. We will watch them pass, and thank them for the life they have given.”
Mammoth Steps, composed for the Composing in the Wilderness 2025 Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska, imagines such a moment—perhaps at the Teklanika West archaeological site in Denali National Park. Evidence shows humans once used this bluff as a lookout for game, more than 13,000 years ago. Along the Teklanika River corridor, mammoth remains have also been found, placing humans and mammoths within the same braided valley, the same time, the same shared life. This work does not depict a specific Indigenous story; rather, it offers a meditation on restraint, reverence, and coexistence, honoring the ancient peoples of Interior Alaska and the living Native nations whose ancestral lands include Denali. Performer’s Notes: As the herd crosses the riverbed, their footsteps shape the music—soft, interwoven rhythms that suggest water, silt, and stone. The piece is tender and joyful rather than thunderous: light staccatos, gentle quarter notes, playful triplets, and brief bursts of motion pass between instruments. Though the flute often carries the herd’s melody, each voice shares in the mammoths’ song, reflecting both individuality and unity as the herd approaches, passes, and fades into the distance. 
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DATE
2025 DURATION 4 min 42 seconds INSTRUMENTATION 1 Flute 1 Bass Clarinet 1 Alto Saxophone 1 Cello 1 Vibraphone  CORVUS
PREMIERE Composing in the Wilderness Performed by CORVUS August 7, 2025 University of Alaska Charles W. Davis Concert Hall Fairbanks, Alaska and August 8, 2025 Denali National Park Visitors Center Check out our Denali National park back country hikes that inspired our compositions:
Composing in the Wilderness compositions on "Alaska Live with Lori Neufeld" KUAC
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