The overture is based on melodious woodland themes from the first, second, and fourth movements. After the yearning opening theme, the music softly builds to a very dramatic recapitulation before concluding in serenity with the revelation music. I decided to add a brief overture to the work because the long opening section of the first movement is very contemplative and requires a certain mind set in order to appreciate. The overture allows the listener to clear the mind of extraneous thoughts and develop a focus. Although the main theme was composed just for the overture based on the spirit of the many other themes in the work, I decided it was needed in even more dramatic form near the conclusion of the first movement.

The overture opens with a mountain horn call as much of the music storyline takes place in scenic mountainous terrain inspired by visits to the Rocky Mountains. Inspiration for that horn call came while looking out from Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the mountains of northern Georgia in September of 1989. The overture had been complete for some time, but the addition of this horn call greatly improved the beginning. The next melodies are woodland scenes from the first and second movements and build to a dramatic recapitulation of the opening theme. The tranquil ending is the revelation music of the fourth movement.