George Maurer is immersing himself in North America’s cultural roots this summer as he arranges music to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Glacier National Park, teaches at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and collaborates on a screenplay about the cultural impact of America’s railways.

First is the July 9-10 concert in Kalispell, Montana, where George will have the unique honor of not only arranging four songs for the Glacier Symphony but also being in the audience to hear them.
The collaboration comes as part of his long-term friendship with Jack Gladstone, a member of the Blackfeet Indian Nation and guest of honor at a recent fundraiser at the James J. Hill House in St. Paul as part of Glacier National Park’s 100-year anniversary. (The connection: James J. Hill built the railroad tracks that lead to the park.)

“I’m especially excited about this because when I arrange music for groups like the Chiffons or Bobby Vee, I don’t always get a chance to see the musicians actually perform the pieces,“ George says. “The fact that I’m actually able to attend the concert with the Glacier Symphony is an incredible opportunity.”

From Glacier, George will head north to Vancouver, where he will teach a course July 11 to 17 at the Vancouver School of Theology at the University of British Columbia. His course will focus on writing new, innovative native hymnody for indigenous parishes across North America and the Pacific Rim, with a focus on originality and building bridges between the past and the present.

“What we’re trying to get at is to tap native poets and musicians in these communities so they can start writing hymns for parishes based on their own spirituality and their own language,“ George explains.

Finally, George is collaborating on a long-term project, a screenplay and theatrical piece on the impact of trains in the wake of America’s courtship with manifest destiny. The piece tells the story of ethnic groups from two segments of North America’s population: indigenous people who were driven from their native lands and homes by the railway system; and the Chinese workers who were brought here to build the railroad from the West to the East.

“We’re exploring the ways Native American culture, Chinese-American culture and America’s westward expansion intersected and impacted each other as America’s cultural fabric changed during the 1800s,“ George says. “We will use that legacy as we compare it with immigration issues we are dealing with today.“

On an entirely different note, the Minnesota Orchestra has called on George to arrange five songs for next May’s “’80s Rewind!“ concerts. You’ll hear more on that later, but here’s a hint: Sweet dreams are made of this.

Over five years in the making. Songs From the Wayward Journey shows off George Maurer as composer, with over an hour of new material written in a number of different genres, featuring some of the top vocal and instrumental talent from the Twin Cities and Central MN. Listen to sound samples here.

Or read the stories behind the songs.

Or read the press release here.

George Maurer writes soundtrack for the WWI movie The Nihilist:

Synopsis:
With a soundtrack featuring George Maurer's signature organics, The Nihilist attains authenticity of mood with Maurer's use of period instruments and ambient sounds. The starkness of WWI battlefields is evoked with manipulated 1901 portable field pump organs to manipulated cello, bass clarinet, snare drum, horns, prepared piano and more. It all adds up to a deftly executed underscore that paints eerie battelfield scenes and highlights deep character conflict.

THE NIHILIST:

At the 2008 Cine-Fest Film Festival "The Nihilist" won:

Best Picture (Nicholas Anthony, Bendan Eddy & Wayne Johnson Jr.), Best Performance (Mikael Rudolph), Honorable Mention for Best Director (Brendan Eddy & Wayne Johnson Jr.), and, Honorable Mention for Best Screenplay (Nicholas Anthony & Wayne Johnson Jr.)


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