Composer-in-Residence Jill Haley performed for about a dozen visitors gathered at Sieur de Monts Spring in Acadia National Park on July 13, 2021. The event was broadcast live over social media. This video excerpt features her original piece "Burst of Colors" inspired by the abundance of flowering plants in Acadia.
Composer Jill Haley began visiting national parks and writing music about them several years ago after she became increasingly concerned about our environment.
She initially visited Glacier National Park hoping to see the glaciers before they melted. She was inspired to write “Glacier Soundscapes,” after this trip and released it as her first recording of national park music. “Zion and Bryce Canyon Soundscapes,” her second recording, received the “Best Piano Album with Instrumentation” award from Zone Music Reporter, an organization that tracks airplay of instrumental music. Jill has visited five national parks as an Artist-in-Residence which has led to the release of four additional recordings including “National Park Soundscapes,” which is a collection of pieces about 12 national parks in 2016 for the National Park Service Centennial. These recordings receive international airplay on radio and music streaming services.
Jill also performs this music in concert settings as a trio of piano, guitar, and oboe/English horn with video of the images that inspired the compositions. A resident of Reading, PA, Jill continues to visit national parks creating musical impressions while maintaining a teaching studio and performing as an oboist/English horn player. Visit her website www.jillhaley.com.
