Photo by Joe Friedrichs
A Paddler’s Symphony – Full Concert & Debut Performance
By Joe Friedrichs
Sarah is 31 years old now and working as a music teacher for multiple schools near St. Cloud. On top of her work, Sarah’s also been busy writing music. In fact, she wrote a symphony. And it’s about paddling. It was performed for the first time in front of a live audience March 1, 2026, in the small town of Buffalo, Minn., which is about an hour northwest of Minneapolis. The musical composition is called “A Paddler’s Symphony.”
Paddle & Portage media attended the live performance, which included readings by Minnesota author Doug Wood. With the permission of Sarah Kremer, we are proud to share the full concert, and public debut of “A Paddler’s Symphony.”
The music was performed in front of a live audience at the BHS Performing Arts Center by the Buffalo Community Orchestra. The conductor of the performance was David Carrillo. Readings by Doug Wood.
Photo by Joe Friedrichs
The Four Movements of the A Paddler’s Symphony are:
I. A Cool Night — Meant to capture a night in a bog. Frog chorus drifting on the night breeze, the haunting howls from a wolf pack, the full awakening of night.
II. The Backcast — Why go through the hardship and misery of a canoe trip? Eventually finding the beautiful blossoming of growth within. The imagery of this movement is influenced by the remote hidden beauty of far northern rugged places, lakes, and rivers paddled on Sarah’s trip to Hudson Bay.
III. Lake of the Woods — A full love to the lake, Sarah learned to deeply love through an organization called Laketrails Base Camp. Sarah has been a guide on Lake of the Woods for many years. The movement captures the water horizons, smeared sunsets, and the songs of camp and paddling.
IV. Let the Moose Run — The notion of fully living and embracing each day of your life. Letting the moose run, as writer Doug Wood shares in his works. A mandolin, guitar and banjo join the full orchestra for this final movement.
In the performance, Kremer wrote the passage for movement III, with Doug Wood writing the excerpts for the other three movements, including text from his book “Paddle Whispers.”
Click here to watch the full concert.
Other Recent Articles
Local Governments Keep Asking: How Much is the BWCA Wilderness Worth?
The Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais. Photo by Joe Friedrichs Local governments near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness have asked this question before, and they’re still wondering: How much money is the BWCA worth? The root of the question stems from...
Wildfire Evacuation Stands Out in Otherwise Quiet Year for BWCA Search & Rescue Operations
Towboat evacuation July 14 in the BWCA Wilderness. Photo courtesy of Vosburgh's Custom Cabins BOUNDARY WATERS – A stretch of three days in July where thousands of paddlers were evacuated from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was the peak of an otherwise quiet...
Forest Service Prepares for Significant Announcements on BWCA Policy & Usage
BWCA Wilderness entry point sign. Photo by Joe Friedrichs The U.S. Forest Service continues to consider changes to a trio of policies that would impact people and businesses that interact with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Of the potential changes, this...