Much has been written about the American spirit and its relationship to our amazing natural landscape—and the urban landscape of our major cities.

American composers, too, have been drawn to the geographical and regional characteristics that have shaped this country, conveying in music the visual and emotional impact of that experience.

In the next hour, we’ll journey with them, from the lower Mississippi to New England, from New York City to Alaska, from the deserts of the Southwest to California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.