Play Me Montana!!!!

By MICK HOLIEN

A lifelong dream of Tim Ryan Rouillier reaches fruition this summer with an abundant dose of pomp and circumstance in his life story as told with symphonic music.

“Play Me Montana,” to be presented at the George Dennison Theater on the University of Montana campus June 17, utilizes the talented Hall of Fame musical writing of Alex Harvey and Charlie Black who parlay with Rouillier and the Missoula Symphony Orchestra to weave the story of Rouillier’s young life as the grandson of a Salish Indian at St. Ignatius on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

After a longtime award-winning Nashville singing and song writing career Rouillier has returned full circle after being motivated for years to capture the wonder of his home state of Montana in word and song.

After playing seemingly every venue and singing the same songs, Rouillier was inspired to go another direction and encouraged by his Nashville peers to put his stories to word and verse.

Four years in the making along with some nine months of just building the video of the state’s fabric and those who occupy it, with the backing of the sympathy he feels he now has reached the highest level of achievement.

A lineage of stories lay dormant from his pre-school days of playing alongside Grandpa Vic in the shadow of the Mission Mountains until musically awakened by lyrics, singing and acting that will at times bring some 125 people on the stage at one time with the entire affair filmed for a possible PBS production.

It will feature drum and song groups from the Salish Kootenai Indian Tribe along with the Flathead Indian youth choir of Arlee.

The project has been recognized as “Grammy worthy,” by Bart Herbison, president of Nashville Songwriters, “a project with the greatest of possibilities” by Tim DuBois former president of ASCAP and Arista Records.

“And all in the key of C,” said Rouillier, in reference to Vic’s affinity to keep his life and music in the simplest of terms.

Several opportunities for apprenticeships also exist in such areas as recording, live production and entertainment management.

Tim is a distant grandson of Jocko Finley and the great grandson of Su ‘San Finley LaRose, who traveled with Chief Charlo to the Mission Valley after being forced over the Bitterroots by Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Missoula in the winter of 1891.

Tickets for the June 17, 7 p.m. show now on sale at www.griztiks, 888-montana.    

     

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