For over fifteen years now, in addition to music for the concert hall, I’ve composed a continuing series works intended to be performed out of doors. The most recent of these is Crossing Open Ground — titled after the book by my beloved friend, the late Barry Lopez, and dedicated to his memory. Since its premiere at the Aspen Music Festival, Crossing Open Ground has been performed in the plaza at Lincoln Center, and most recently in Snow Canyon, Utah. In April, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will present it in Elysian Park.

This all began with Inuksuit, for massed percussion, which premiered in the Canadian Rockies in 2009 under the direction of my good friend Steven Schick. Since then Steve has led performances of Inuksuit all over the world, including a powerful staging on both sides of the steel wall along the U.S./Mexico border (video) and, most recently, with the largest ensemble to date at the 50th Anniversary of the Percussive Arts Society.

When I composed Inuksuit, I couldn’t have imagined that it would become one of my most widely performed works. And although I continue to compose chamber music, electro-acoustic music, and symphonic works, I sometimes think that in the long run my outdoor music may prove to be among the most radical and enduring elements of my life’s work.