Lost City of Tryon

In the late 1700s, John Tryon purchased land on Irondequoit Creek, a few miles from what is today Rochester, N.Y. Mr. Tryon and others envisioned a thriving, successful city that would use its location on the creek to facilitate trade with surrounding communities and Canada. While a number of buildings were built, and Tryon did become a bustling commercial center, the young city was eventually abandoned in the first few decades of the 1800s as Rochester began to thrive on the Genesee River just a few miles west. Today, very little is left of the original City of Tryon -- only a few brick pillars, concrete steps, and a cabin that was rebuilt in the 20th century. I envision a community of early settlers at Tryon busily constructing buildings and the necessarily tools and materials. I see and hear blacksmiths forging steel into tools, carpenters hammering nails, and everyone in the community contributing some skill to build this new city. The beginning and end of the piece represent this idea -- the building of the city of Tryon. Foot-stomps from the ensemble help evoke this scene. The lyrical middle section represents the beauty of the land, its verdant hills situated beside a creek.