Cortez native Jadon Cruzan returned home earlier this month to conduct the world premiere of a composition inspired by the community where he grew up.
The Four Corners Community Band performed Cruzan's Cortez Overture at the Cortez Cultural Center as part of a concert celebrating the city's 140th anniversary.
Cruzan is a 2021 graduate of Montezuma-Cortez High School and built the piece around the first melody he ever wrote. He created it as a student with little knowledge of music theory, piecing it together through trial and error in composition software on his mother's laptop until it sounded right.
Years later, Cruzan returned to that melody after studying composition at the University of Colorado — Colorado Springs. He told KSJD that hearing the idea transformed into a full concert-scale work gave him a sense of how far he had come as a composer.
The overture combines what Cruzan described as a Native American-inspired flute melody, Wild West rhythms and patriotic harmonies. He said the music also reflects the sense of adventure he associates with growing up in Southwest Colorado.
Cruzan described writing the piece as an exploration of his roots and a chance to reconsider his relationship with Cortez after spending several years away.
Four Corners Community Band Director Karen Steele said performing a new work for the first time was a privilege for the volunteer ensemble.
"It's exciting to play a piece that you know has not been played before," Steele said.
The August 15 performance marked the first public performance of Cortez Overture, with Cruzan conducting the Four Corners Community Band himself.
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