Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate's Opera LOKSI' SHAALI' to be Presented By Mount Holyoke College
The performance will take place on February 28, 2025 at 7:30pm.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 18, 2025
On February 28, 2025 at 7:30pm, Chickasaw American composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate's new opera Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), conducted by Tianhui Ng will have its East Coast Premiere at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. The event features the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, Mount Holyoke College Glee Club, and Mount Holyoke Symphony Chorus in Abbey Memorial Chapel. Costumes have been designed by award-winning Chickasaw weaver, fiber expert, and textile artist Margaret Roach Wheeler.
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. The first opera composed entirely in an American Indian language, 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. Soprano Katelyn Morton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, sang 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.
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
Friday, February 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Mount Holyoke College Presents Jerod Tate's Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker) [East Coast Premiere]
Abbey Memorial Chapel, Main Chapel | South Hadley, MA
Tickets: $20 General Admission, $15 Students and Seniors
Event Link: https://events.mtholyoke.edu/event/shell-shaker-east-coast-premiere
Cast:
Cristina María Castro, lyric mezzo soprano - Loksi', Chickasaw girl
Charles Calotta, tenor - Hiloha/Loksi' Sipokni', Chickasaw Boy, and Old Turtle
Kirsten C. Kunkle, spinto soprano - Ippo'si' Sipokni', Loksi''s Grandmother/Grandmother Turtle
Nicole Van Every, soprano - Ishki', Loksi''s Mother
Mark Billy, bass/baritone - Inki', Loksi''s Father
Grant Youngblood, baritone - Okhina', River
Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra
Tianhui Ng, conductor
Mount Holyoke College Glee Club
Colin Britt, director
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