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Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate Announces 2024/2025 Season, Premiere of First Ever Opera in an American Indian Language
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Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate
Announces 2024/2025 Season
Canterbury Voices and Oklahoma City Philharmonic Premiere Tate’s
Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), the First Opera Composed Entirely in an
American Indian Language, Reprised at Mount Holyoke in Spring 2025
New String Quartet Woodland Songs, Plus Orchestration of
Pura Fé Crescioni’s Rattle Songs, Toured Nationwide by the Dover Quartet
PostClassical Ensemble Honors Tate with Program at The Kennedy Center
Oklahoma City Philharmonic Premieres American Indian Symphony,
a Tribute to Six Cultural Regions of Native North America
Orchestras Around the U.S. Perform Tate’s Popular Works, Including
Chokfi’, Spirit Chief Names the Animal People, Visions of a Child,
Ghost of the White Deer, and MoonStrike
“Tate’s connection to nature and the human experience was quite apparent in this piece.
Rarer still is his ability to effectively infuse classical music with American Indian nationalism.”
– The Washington Post
New York, NY (September 10, 2024) – With works described as “rich, provocative and moving” (The New York Times), Emmy-winning composer and father Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate has earned a unique place in classical music as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who channels American Indian culture and legend through the classical medium. Across eight albums, performances by major orchestras, and inclusion on HBO’s Westworld, Tate is admired for work “that fundamentally affirms the value and reinvigorates the vitality of Chickasaw … language, stories, cultural traditions, and communities” (I Care if You Listen).
The 2024-2025 season brings the world premiere of Tate’s first opera, Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), which receives its premiere by Canterbury Voices, joined by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, in October 2024, as well as the world premiere of his American Indian Symphony, premiered by Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Canterbury Voices, both in the composer’s hometown of Oklahoma City. During the season, ensembles throughout the United States present performances of his popular composition Chokfi’, as well as popular works such as Spirit Chief Names the Animal People, Visions of a Child, Ghost of the White Deer, and MoonStrike.
In his two-act opera Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), Tate depicts the Chickasaw origin story of the tribe’s sacred turtle shell shakers, used in traditional stomp dancing and social songs. The first opera composed entirely in an American Indian language, Shell Shaker makes its world premiere with Canterbury Voices and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, conducted by TianHui Ng at Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City on Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 3:00pm. Soprano Katelyn Morton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, sings the lead role of Loksi' (Turtle) in this story of a Chickasaw girl who is teased for being too slow to keep up with the other children. After seeking wisdom from her grandmother, family and the tribe’s trusted River Spirit, she learns she must leave home to find her purpose – setting out on a long woodland journey from which she returns as a cultural hero, enriched by the divine gift of the turtle shell shakers and knowledge of the Chickasaw tribe’s new homelands.
Tate expresses, “I am thrilled for my people to hear their language sung on the concert stage and I hope they feel proud when the world witnesses our rich legacy, expressed in a dramatic and theatrical performance.”
Tate’s Woodland Songs and Pura Fé: Rattle Songs will be performed on tour by the Dover Quartet this season. The Dover Quartet performed the world premiere of Woodland Songs in Kingston, RI, on August 2, 2024, at the Kingston Chamber Music Festival. Next, the Dover Quartet takes Tate’s pieces to Houston on Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 at 7:30 PM presented by Chamber Music Houston; Fort Worth, TX on October 19, 2024 at 2pm presented by the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth; Philadelphia, PA on October 25, 2024 at 7:30pm presented by the Curtis Institute of Music; Berkeley, CA on November 3, 2024 at 3 PM presented by Cal Performances at UC Berkeley; Denver, CO on Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 4:00 PM presented by the Friends of Chamber Music (Denver); and Portland, OR on November 23, 2024 and Eugene, OR on November 24, 2024 at 3pm presented by Chamber Music Northwest. Then, the tour heads to Evanston, IL on January 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM presented by Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music; Tucson, AZ on January 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM presented by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (Tucson); Baltimore, MD on February 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM presented by the Shriver Hall Concert Series; and Pittsburgh, PA on April 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM presented by Chamber Music Pittsburgh. Abokkoli' Taloowa' (Woodland Songs) is full of Chickasaw melodies, rhythms and musical structure, with elements appearing very clearly while the melody romantically soars above the ensemble. Rattle Songs is a suite of compositions created by the Tuscarora vocalist, Pura Fé Crescione, for the ensemble, ULALI, also comprised of Pura Fé’s Tuscarora cousin Jennifer Kreisberg and her Maya/Apache friend Soni Moreno. In 1994, this Native trio made history when they released their album, Mahk Jchi (Our Hearts). At the Dover Quartet's request, Tate adapted Rattle Songs for string quartet.
The tour was commissioned for the Dover Quartet by Curtis Institute of Music, with co-commissioners including Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Cal Performances at UC Berkeley, Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Houston, Chamber Music Northwest, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, Friends of Chamber Music Denver, Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music, and Shriver Hall Concert Series.
Abokkoli' Taloowa' (Woodland Songs), commissioned for the Dover Quartet, is a modern Chickasaw composition about woodland animals from the Southeastern homelands. Tate says, “Our traditional woodland animals are so revered that our family clans are named after them. My family is Shawi' Iksa', Raccoon Clan. Each woodland animal has a special ethos and there are many traditional stories about them. In this work, five woodland animals are represented: Squirrel, Bird, Deer, Fish, and Raccoon. Each movement is like an epitome—a deep, dramatic and rhapsodic expression of my feelings of being a Chickasaw man from a beautiful and robust culture. I love our animals and I love composing works about them.”
Chickasaw music is based on turtle shell shaking as percussion for stomp dancing and social songs. The Tuscarora people share a very similar shell shaking tradition, as do most Native woodland tribes. In Rattle Songs, ULALI brought together songs from different parts of Indian Country and brilliantly couched them in traditional woodland shell-shaking styles. Tate notes that, “After consulting with Pura Fé, I have created these orchestrations that are classically impressionistic in a post-modern style. I make no deliberate attempt to imitate the exact sound of rattles from the original songs; rather, I have created a new home for them in the string quartet. Pura Fé created Rattle Songs as an homage to her Native North American cousins, and it is my hope that my orchestrations create another layer of honoring our people.”
Also making its world premiere this season is Tate’s American Indian Symphony, a work in six movements representing six cultural regions of Native North America and sung in six different American Indian languages: Apache, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Modoc, Potawotomi, and Wichita. The work premieres with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, joined by Canterbury Voices, on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 8pm. Commissioned by Oklahoma City Philharmonic, American Indian Symphony is an orchestral composition in honor of Tate’s Native cousins. The work is in six movements, each dedicated to a different cultural region of Indian Country. It features a full orchestra, full chorus, and two American Indian opera soloists—Kirsten Kunkle (Muscogee) and Grant Youngblood (Lumbee)—singing in Apache, Chickasaw, Cheyenne, Modoc, Potawatomi, and Wichita.
Among the other performances of Tate’s music this season, his work Spirit Chief Names the Animal People will be featured at the Siletz Bay Music Festival in Lincoln City, Oregon on August 24, 2024 at 2:30pm. Originally a movement within Tate’s composition Winter Moons, this work for chamber orchestra and narrator tells the Okanagan story of how all the earth’s animals were given names, and arranged in a hierarchy, by the Great Spirit Chief. The Coyote – often depicted as a careless and scheming figure in American Indian lore – plays a special role in the tale, conniving to claim the proudest name and position for himself. In a twist, his scheme fails and almost leaves him with nothing – but because he humbles himself before the Great Spirit Chief, he is forgiven and allowed to keep an important role in the animal kingdom. This performance features Amelia Lukas, flute; Ricky Smith, clarinet; Ryan Hare, bassoon; Michelle Bushkova, keyboard; and Sherrie Davis, narrator.
On October 13, 2024 at 6:30pm at Wicker Park Lutheran Church, the Vox Venti choir of Chicago performs Tate’s Visions of a Child: A Pueblo Lullaby, a work dedicated to the Pueblo people of New Mexico and performed in celebration of Indigenous People's Day. Incorporating elements of traditional Pueblo rhythm and melody, the work depicts a lullaby sung to a young child, followed by the dreamy, whimsical images seen in the child’ mind’s-eye as he or she drifts off to sleep: a playful buffalo, a sunflower field, rays of sunlight, the flight of an eagle, a sunrise. Simple and playful, the composition reflects the sweetness of a child’s consciousness while also capturing the vocal style of a child’s first concept of speech.
On Monday, October 14, 2024 at 7:00pm, the Windham Philharmonic (Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro,Vermont) will perform Ghost of the White Deer, Tate’s bassoon concerto depicting a legend of two young Chickasaws in love. In the story, a young warrior hopes to marry the beautiful daughter of a tribal chief, but the chief does not approve, assigning the warrior the near-impossible task of hunting down and killing a rare white deer in exchange for his daughter. Against all odds, the youth does spot one of the coveted deer and strikes it with his arrow – but here the legend takes a turn, suggesting that instead of falling dead, the deer instead charges down the warrior, who never returns home. In his absence, the chief’s daughter never marries. According to legend, however, she sometimes sees the ghost of the deer running in the rising smoke of the campfire, convinced that one day it will fall and her lover will return.
Tate’s work Chokfi' (Rabbit) for string orchestra and percussion remains one of his most frequently performed works, featuring in six programs this season. Commissioned by Oklahoma Youth Orchestras, this playful yet challenging piece, popular with performers and audiences of all ages, plays off the rabbit’s trickster role in Chickasaw legend. In its first performance this season, Chokfi' will feature in A Fabled Afternoon, a program by the Concert Orchestra of Colorado State University on October 20, 2024 at 4:00pm. On December 14, 2024 at 7:30pm, the work will be performed by the Greater Bridgeport Symphony (Connecticut) as part of the program Story-Telling Time, which pairs the piece with works including Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade. In its next performance, Chokfi’ appears on the program for the Austin Symphony Orchestra’s High School Series, running from January 27-31, 2025. On February 28 and March 1, 2025 at 7:30pm, the work will be performed by the Eureka Symphony (California) in Music as Legend, a program also featuring soloist Evan Kahn, cellist of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, on Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major. The Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra (Wyoming) will perform Chokfi’ in their American Escapades program on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 7:30pm. In the season’s final performance of Chokfi’, the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra (Colorado) features the work in their season finale concert on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 7:30pm.
On Monday, January 13, 2025 at 7:30pm at The Kennedy Center, PostClassical Ensemble presents Tate at Amazing Grace: Fire and Light—a celebration of the universal expression of the human spirit through music, which is an annual concert that features a BIPOC composer curating a concert of music they connect with deeply, as well as sharing their own work. Tate will take PostClassical Ensemble on a journey of fire and light in a program featuring selections from his moving cantata Standing Bear and Lowak Shoppala’ (Fire and Light), a work expressing Tate’s Chickasaw heritage through music. The concert also includes Samuel Barber’s dreamlike Knoxville: Summer of 1915 performed by Mvskoke soprano, Kirsten C. Kunkle. As a special tribute, PostClassical Ensemble will present Tate with PostClassical Ensemble’s American Roots Artist Award for outstanding contributions to American music.
In early March 2025, conductor TianHui Ng leads a residency surrounding Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) at Mount Holyoke College in Amherst, MA, with the piece’s staged East Coast Premiere performing on February 28th, 2025 at 7:30pm with performed by the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, Mount Holyoke College Glee Club, and Mount Holyoke Symphony Chorus in Chapin Auditorium.
National Concerts presents a special performance of Tate's Iholba' at Carnegie Hall on April 1, 2025. Under the direction and artistic vision of guest conductor, Dr. Tracey Gregg-Boothby, select choirs will have the opportunity to rehearse and perform at Carnegie Hall. Iholba' (The Vision) is a work inspired by Tate’s native Chickasaw culture—the Chickasaw Nation originally lived in the Southeastern United States and was relocated to Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. The musical material for Iholba' is based on a Chickasaw Garfish Dance song and is sung in the Chickasaw language. The text is original poetry by the composer, and the translation was provided by Onita Carnes, Catherine Wilmond, and Pamela Munro. The work is in two movements, entitled Halbina' (The Gift) and Iholba' (The Vision).
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate 2024-2025 Season
August 2, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet (World Premiere)
Kingston Chamber Music Festival
Edwards Hall at the University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI
Link: www.kingstonchambermusic.org/festival-concerts/
August 24, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Spirit Chief Names the Animal People at Siletz Bay Music Festival
Regatta Park Bandshell | Lincoln City, OR
Link: siletzbaymusic.org/
September 17, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Chamber Music Houston
Stude Concert Hall at the Brockman Music and Performing Arts Center | Houston, TX
Link: www.chambermusichouston.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0STS000006NNN42AO
October 13, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Visions of a Child at Vox Venti
Wicker Park Lutheran Church | Chicago, IL
Link: www.voxventi.org/loving-and-thoughtful-hands
October 14, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Windham Philharmonic performs Ghost of the White Deer
Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro, VT
Link: www.windhamphilharmonic.org/
October 19, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth | Fort Worth, TX
Link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chambermusicsocietyoffortworth/1234478https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chambermusicsocietyoffortworth/1234478
October 20, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Colorado State University Concert Orchestra performs Chokfi' / A Fabled Afternoon
Colorado State University | Fort Collins, CO
Link: www.music.colostate.edu/events/concert-orchestra-concert-a-fabled-afternoon/
October 25, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Curtis Institute of Music | Philadelphia, PA
Link: www.curtis.edu/event/curtis-presents-2024-10-25/
October 27, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Oklahoma City Philharmonic & Canterbury Voices perform Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) [World Premiere]
Civic Center Music Hall | Oklahoma City, OK
Link: www.canterburyokc.com/shellshakeropera/
November 3, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Cal Performances at UC Berkeley
Hertz Hall | Berkeley, CA
Link: www.calperformances.org/events/2024-25/orchestra-chamber-music/dover-quartet-2425/
November 17, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Friends of Chamber Music Denver
Gates Hall, Newman Center | Denver, CO
Link: www.friendsofchambermusic.com/event/dover-quartet-2/
November 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs with Dover Quartet
Chamber Music Northwest
The Old Church | Portland, OR
Link: www.cmnw.org/concerts-events/2024-25-season/dover-quartet/2168
November 24, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Chamber Music Northwest
Beall Concert Hall at University of Oregon | Eugene, OR
Link: www.calendar.uoregon.edu/event/dover-quartet
December 14, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Chokfi' / Story-telling Time with Greater Bridgeport Symphony
The Klein Memorial Auditorium | Bridgeport, CT
Link: gbs.org/events/
January 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall | Evanston, IL
Link: www.music.northwestern.edu/events/dover-quartet-3
January 13, 2025 at 7:30 PM
PostClassical Ensemble Presents Amazing Grace: Fire and Light
Terrace Theater, The Kennedy Center | Washington, D.C.
Link: www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/classical-music/2024-2025/amazing-grace-fire-and-light/
January 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (Tucson)
Leo Rich Theater | Tucson, AZ
Link: www.arizonachambermusic.org/events/dover-quartet/
January 27-31, 2025 (10 Performances)
Chokfi' / Austin Symphony Orchestra 2025 High School Series
Long Center for the Performing Arts | Austin, TX
Link: austinsymphony.org/education-community/high-school-program/
February 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Shriver Hall Concert Series
Shriver Hall | Baltimore, MD
Link: www.shriverconcerts.org/dovercann#event_overview
February 28 & March 1, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Eureka Symphony performs Chokfi'
Arkley Center for the Performing Arts | Eureka, CA
Link: www.eurekasymphony.org/celebrate-with-us-concerts-events/
March 2025, TBA
Mount Holyoke College Presents Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) [East Coast Premiere]
Chapin Auditorium | Amherst, MA
TBA
March 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM
MoonStrike
Blue Sage Center for the Arts
228 Grand Ave | Paonia, Colorado
Link: bluesage.org/jarodtate
March 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra performs Chokfi'
Cheyenne Civic Center | Cheyenne, WY
Link: www.cheyennesymphony.org/concerts-and-events/
April 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM
National Concerts Presents Jerod Tate’s IHOLBÁ, led by Tracey Gregg-Boothby
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall | New York, NY
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org, or at the Box Office on 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.
Link: www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2025/04/01/national-concerts-0800pm
April 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Oklahoma City Philharmonic & Canterbury Voices perform American Indian Symphony (World Premiere)
Civic Center Music Hall | Oklahoma City, OK
Link: www.okcphil.org/concerts/world-premiere/
April 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Woodland Songs and Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs with Dover Quartet
Chamber Music Pittsburgh
PNC Theatre | Pittsburgh, PA
Link: www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org/dover-quartet/
May 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra performs Chokfi'
The Lincoln Center | Fort Collins, CO
Link: fcsymphony.org/events/24-25-season-symphonic-tales-a-journey-of-imagination-and-discovery/
About Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a classical composer and citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition. The Washington Post raved that “Tate is rare as an American Indian composer of classical music. Rarer still is his ability to effectively infuse classical music with American Indian nationalism.” He is a 2022 Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee and a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from The Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2021, he was appointed a Cultural Ambassador for the U. S. Department of State.
Among many recent premieres, Tate’s highlights include commissions from the American Composers Orchestra, Cantori NY and the New York Philharmonic – for which The New York Times praised Tate’s “gifts for texture and color.” Turtle Island Quartet premiered his Little Loksi' alongside works by Terence Blanchard, David Balakrishnan, and Rhiannon Giddens nationwide.
Tate’s commissioned works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Canterbury Voices, Dale Warland Singers, Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. His music was also featured in the HBO series Westworld.
Tate is a three-time commissioned recipient from the American Composers Forum, a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program recipient, a Cleveland Institute of Music Alumni Achievement Award recipient, a governor-appointed Creativity Ambassador for the State of Oklahoma, and an Emmy Award-winner for his work on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority documentary The Science of Composing.
Tate’s recording credits include Iholba' (The Vision) for Solo Flute, Orchestra and Chorus and Tracing Mississippi, Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, recorded by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, on the GRAMMY® Award-winning label Azica Records. In 2021, Azica released Tate’s Lowak Shoppala' (Fire and Light), recorded by Nashville String Machine with the Chickasaw Nation Children’s Chorus and Dance Troupe and the label recently released Tate’s inaugural composition, Winter Moons, and his MoonStrike, recorded by Apollo Chamber Players. His Metropolitan Museum of Art commission Pisachi (Reveal) is featured on ETHEL String Quartet’s album Documerica.
Tate earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University and his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music. His middle name, Impichchaachaaha', means “their high corncrib” and is his inherited traditional Chickasaw house name. Learn more at www.jerodtate.com.
*Photo Credit: Shevaun Williams
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