The Wanderer began as a reflection on the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina–-dark, quiet woods; dense fog that settles into the valleys in the mornings; fierce, howling wind on the tops of ridges. It is awe-inspiring and has a mysterious, even dangerous quality to it all–as if one could suddenly lose his way at any moment. I was reminded of a recording of Wayfaring Stranger made in Beech Mountain by Horton Barker in the 1960s:

“I am a poor, wayfaring stranger wandering through this world of woe…
I know dark clouds will gather ‘round me. I know my way is rough and steep.”

That recording served as the germinal element from which the piece developed. Barker’s subtle pitch bends and liberties with rhythms, for example, are abstracted and transformed into large-scale passages of glissandi, with the pitches sometimes sliding, but frequently overlapping in dense cluster chords, as well as irregular meters that produce some interesting percussion patterns. The folk song, wandering through the world, as it were, does battle with the elements, emerges alone briefly, and then loses its way again.

This recording was created by the Appalachian State University Wind Ensemble under the direction of John Ross. The Wanderer was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition.

The Wanderer (wind ensemble)

I'm a composer. I'm currently an associate professor of music and chair of the music program at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia. I have degrees from Appalachian State University, Brigham Young University, and the University of North Texas. 

My music is grounded in a fascination with visual art, textures, sound spectra, non-linear narratives, and extreme temporal manipulations, and it has been heavily influenced by studio techniques of electroacoustic composers. I've been commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the Nova Ensemble at UNT, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Virginia Wesleyan University, and many amazing performers. I've composed two feature film scores—King Rat (2017) and HUM (2020), and my concert works have been performed throughout the United States as well as South Korea, and is available on the SEAMUS and Ravello record labels.

Check out additional pieces at my YouTube channel (link below).

Email me at jkharriscomposer@gmail.com

The Wanderer (wind ensemble)

Joshua Harris