Mt. McKinley: aka Denali."Denali," a composition for 16 strings by Texas composer Stephen Lias, will be presented at The Denali National Park Visitor Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 21.

A press release says the work was inspired by Lias visit to the park last year. I'm still waiting to hear back from the composer, but his website suggests that the piece may have been premiered last year at Stephen F. Austin State University where he is an assistant professor.
Stephen Lias: Composer's previous work has been inspired by Prince William Sound and Big Bend National Park.
The performance will be done by musicians with the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, which takes place (mostly) at UAF from July 15-29. The musicians will be joined by the Tri-Valley High School Choir for another concert at noon at the Eielson Visitor Center.

The National Park Service press release says these will be the first orchestral performances ever inside the park.

Word from the Summer Arts people is that Lias will be spending time this summer in the Wrangells, Glacier Bay and Gates of the Arctic, composing something in the parks/preserves/monuments in those areas. Also, the Festival is sponsoring a composer class with nine composers from around the world heading to the hinterlands to compose this month. Their work will be premiered at the orchestra concert in Davis Hall on July 28.

The Denali concert will be free. More details about the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival at fsaf.org.