Wilmington Concert Opera to Produce Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) at the 2026 Opera America Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations 
katy@primoartists.com | 646.801.9406

Contact: Saratoga Schaefer | Primo Artists | Publicist 
saratoga@primoartists.com | 646.470.4456 

 

Wilmington Concert Opera to Produce
Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s
Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker)
at the 2026 Opera America Conference 

The World Premiere Chamber Version of the First Opera Ever Composed by an American Indian in their Native Language, Featuring a Primarily Native Cast

Thursday, May 14 at 8:00pm (2026 Opera America Conference)
Saturday, May 16 at 2:00pm

Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew | Wilmington, DE 

Watch the Loksi' Shaali' Trailer

“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

www.jerodtate.com

 

Wilmington, DE (February 3, 2026) - On May 14, 2026 at 8:00pm and May 16, 2026 at 2:00pm, Chickasaw American composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s first opera Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), comes to Wilmington Concert Opera during the 2026 Opera America Conference. Loksi' Shaali' is the first opera written by an American Indian composer to be sung and premiered entirely in a U.S. tribal language, and features a stellar, primarily Indigenous cast. This groundbreaking work, performed here in the world premiere chamber version, includes Chickasaw translation by Lokosh (Joshua D. Hinson) of Tate's original libretto and will feature operatic singers of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Mvskoke, Pueblo of Acoma, Taíno, and Tiwa Nations and heritages. Wilmington Concert Opera, a women- and minority-founded and run company, focuses on accessibility and inclusion.

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s two-act opera Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) depicts the Chickasaw origin story of the tribe’s sacred turtle shell shakers, used in traditional stomp dancing and social songs. Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) made 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 and its East Coast premiere led by TianHui Ng at Mount Holyoke College on February 28, 2025. 

Soprano Katelyn Morton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma who created the lead role, 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, the young girl learns she must leave home to find her purpose. She sets out on a long woodland journey, returning a cultural hero, enriched by the divine gift of the turtle shell shakers and knowledge of the Chickasaw people’s new homelands.

The cast also includes Hugo Vera (Tiwa) as Hiloha/Loksi' Sipokni' (Hiloha/Old Turtle), Kirsten C. Kunkle (Mvskoke) as Ippo'si'/Loksi' Ippo'si (Grandmother/Grandmother Turtle), Nicole Van Every as Ishki' (Mother), Mark Billy (Choctaw) as Inki' (Father) and Okhina (River), Dylan Aguayo (Taino) as Shawi' (Racoon), Sage DiPalma (Cherokee) and Issi' (Deer), Kevin Patrick as Nanni' (Fish), Bo Shimmin (Pueblo of Acoma) as Fani' (Squirrel), and Suzannah Waddington as Bakbak (Woodpecker).

Tate says, “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.”

Program Information

Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, May 16 at 2:00pm

Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker)

Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew | Wilmington, DE

Link: www.wilmingtonconcertopera.com/loksi-shaali

Tickets: Tickets for the May 14th performance are available to Opera America Conference attendees through Opera America, and all other patrons may donate at the door for admission. Suggested donation is $20 per person. 

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate – Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) [World Premiere Chamber Version]

Cast:

Katelyn Morton (Cherokee) - Loksi' (Turtle)

Hugo Vera (Tiwa) - Hiloha/Loksi' Sipokni' (Hiloha/Old Turtle)

Kirsten C. Kunkle (Mvskoke) - Ippo'si'/Loksi' Ippo'si (Grandmother/Grandmother Turtle)

Nicole Van Every - Ishki' (Mother)

Mark Billy (Choctaw) - Inki' (Father), Okhina (River)

Dylan Aguayo (Taino) - Shawi' (Racoon)

Sage DiPalma (Cherokee) - Issi' (Deer)

Kevin Patrick - Nanni' (Fish)

Bo Shimmin (Pueblo of Acoma) - Fani' (Squirrel)

Suzannah Waddington - Bakbak (Woodpecker)

Christa Schimitsch - Loksi' (Cover)

Nicklaus Porter - Hiloha/Losksi' Sipokni' (Cover)

Anita Lyons - Ippo'si'/Loksi' Ippo'si (Cover)

Kevin Patrick - Inki', Okhina (Cover)

Suzannah Waddington - Ishki' (Cover)

TianHui Ng - Conductor

Reese Revak - Pianist

Joshua D. “Lokosh” Hinson (Chickasaw) - Translator/ Diction Coach

Margaret Wheeler (Chickasaw) - Costume Designer

Kirsten C. Kunkle (Mvskoke) - Artistic Director, Wilmington Concert Opera

Marisa Robinson - Executive Director, Wilmington Concert Opera

Jennifer Grackin Steinberg - Board President, Wilmington Concert Opera 

About Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a Chickasaw-American father, 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. In 2025, Tate won the Wise-Hinrichsen Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Among Tate’s recent premieres, highlights include commissions from the New York Philharmonic – for which The New York Times praised Tate’s “gifts for texture and color” – the American Composers Orchestra, Cantori NY, and Turtle Island Quartet. The Dover String Quartet commissioned Tate’s new quartet, Woodland Songs, as well as a newly commissioned orchestration of Pura Fe’s Rattle Songs, and continues to tour the works throughout the world. In fall 2024, Oklahoma’s Canterbury Voices performed the world premiere of Tate’s Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), the first opera written by an American Indian composer in their native language, and it was reprised at Mount Holyoke University in spring 2025 under the baton of TianHui Ng. PostClassical Ensemble presented an all-American Indian program curated by Tate at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and his popular work Chokfi’ has been programmed by symphonies across the country. His American Indian Symphony was performed at the Oklahoma City Philharmonic in April 2025. 

Tate has recently been commissioned by Roomful of Teeth, violinist Irina Muresanu, Skaneateles Festival, and Big 10 Band Directors Association. Tate’s other 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.

About Wilmington Concert Opera

Wilmington Concert Opera is an exclusively woman and minority-led opera company in Wilmington, Delaware. We serve two very different communities in substantially different capacities. First, we serve the greater Wilmington/Philadelphia performer community by providing high-level performance opportunities that prioritize hiring local singers. In addition to providing opportunities for local singers, as women who are also performers, we prioritize a positive work flow and a rewarding, family-friendly rehearsal process, as well as engaging as diverse a cast as possible for each of our performances. Second, we offer free (donations are accepted, but not required) performances in economically disadvantaged parts of Wilmington and its suburbs. These performances provide the community with exposure to a traditionally expensive art form. It is one of our explicit goals to introduce new faces to opera. As a result, our performances are always open to the public and family-friendly. Creating opportunities, opening communities: World-Class Opera! 

# # #