Olcott Park

Olcott Park is a place in Bloomington, Indiana, not far from where I live. I used to enjoy going there with my children, who would play soccer or run around on the many paths. I would also take my camera and look for birds to photograph, especially in the spring when prairie warblers, parulas and other migrants would come to visit. Since the coronavirus outbreak, I have made a few excursions there, but not in recent weeks. There are too many people around, most without masks, most in close proximity to one another. It is not the safe place it had once been. Even the less trodden paths are choked with people, so that there is little peace left there. But I still care for it, and I still hope to return again soon. This solo piano piece is a remembrance of that place, with its forests and birds, its many paths, and that sense of peace I once felt. It is dedicated to my dear friend, Daniel Pesca with deepest admiration.

A recording of the piece is available from Neuma Records.