Flatiron Escapades is a musical tribute to the Colorado Chautauqua, a cherished cultural landmark ensconced in the beautiful foothills of Boulder, Colorado. This piece was composed in commemoration of the Chautauqua's 125th anniversary and is a reflection of my experiences in the park and the surrounding Flatirons.

For three years, I lived very close to the Chautauqua Trailhead, and would regularly go on walks, jogs, and hikes through the area. Music would often accompany these excursions, either in my earbuds or in my mind; the music of Lili Boulanger, Gustav Mahler, Maurice Ravel, and several of my own musical ideas that had yet to be written down, are now inseparable from this place for me, and many of these musical impressions served as inspiration for Flatiron Escapades.

In addition to my many positive experiences surrounding Chautauqua and the Flatirons, I can recount many “trudges” up the Chautauqua Trail that were motivated by a need to get out of my own head. I recall most of them happening in the year 2020, when there were too many occasions on which it felt as though things just became worse and worse; occasions on which it felt impossible to breathe. I would come to Chautauqua to find the quiet that my mind needed, even if it was only temporary, and these episodes of anxiety and internal chaos are woven into the piece as well.