Elizabeth Phillipson-Weiner, a composer born and raised in Lower Merion, was recently tasked with writing original songs for a new documentary called, “Out There: A National Parks Story,” writes Kristen Hunt for PhillyVoice.

The documentary allows viewers to indulge in U.S. national parks, which display their wildly different terrains and critters that call them home.

Phillipson-Weiner has years of experience in putting the spirit of a setting and characters into song form, as she has worked on films and television for over a decade.

She has also visited 20 national parks.

“The movie is really a road trip movie,” Phillipson-Weiner said. “It’s an adventure movie. And so we (approached) the music as, like, what would you put on as soon as you leave to get on a road trip?”

Phillipson-Weiner has lived in Brooklyn, New York for the past seven years. Before that, she attended Merion Elementary School and graduated from Lower Merion High School in 2011.

She also played trombone in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, which helped set her on her current career path. 

“That’s what really sparked my interest in classical music. It’s sort of where I learned that you can tell a story through music with no words,” Phillipson-Weiner said. 

Read more about Elizabeth Phillipson-Weiner and her composing career in PhillyVoice.

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