This is the story of Juan Carlos Chavez, who found comfort from the pain of isolation, prejudice and his parents absence in his love for and dedication for soccer. Living on a ranch on the slopes of the San Vicente Volcano or in an inner-city barrio was at times difficult. Playing soccer became a way of surviving loneliness and internal unexpressed anger for him. This is the odyssey that he lived in order to cross the border to the United States. He helped to bring his two sisters and brother across the border and, in so doing, he discovered how much he loved his siblings. He came of age, and recognized the deep sense of responsibility he had for his brother's and sisters safety. It was at this dangerous and perilous time that He made a strong commitment to return to his native country. He felt the strong tug that the land had on his life. He knew the only way for him to feel whole was to work on the ranch beside his beloved grandmother.

"Beth Levy has written an elegant work of depth and breadth that gives generous space to the idea of the American West. Her discussions of more than a dozen composers and their works—some usual suspects, others rather unexpected—reveal the 'varied musical ecosystems of the west.' Levy takes us with her on the trail in prose that is by turns pithy and poetic, but always spot on."—Denise Von Glahn, author of The Sounds of Place: Music and the American Cultural Landscape “Big and bold as the terrain it covers, Beth Levy’s Frontier Figures takes us on a gratifying road trip, traversing American ‘classical’ compositions that conjure up landscapes from the Middle West to the shores of the Pacific. En route, we encounter many now-famous composers, such as Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, and Virgil Thomson, along with others who have faded from view. Throughout, Levy treats the ‘West’ as both geographic location and mythologized ideal, demonstrating its power on the American musical imagination.”—Carol Oja, author of Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s.