Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate Announces Upcoming Performances in Honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month

Emmy-winning composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, and is dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition, often incorporating tribal languages, stories, and dances into his works.

Jerod Tate is currently at work on commissions for the Turtle Island Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, Parlando, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Boston Children's Chorus, Florida Orchestra, and many more. He is self-published, and announced at the beginning of pandemic that he would waive all licensing fees for his music until the end of 2023. Tate feels strongly about providing an equitable model for all ensembles and presenters, to allow access to new music for artists of all skill and financial levels.

Tate explains, "At the beginning of the pandemic, I made a public announcement that all my music is free for purchase, rental, or sync rights through 2023. I felt this was the most immediate and tangible way I could help my music community. I also prioritize making myself available for Zoom coaching, pre- and post-concert appearances, and other events to help the artistic and marketing efforts of the performances."

This fall, his works are featured in three commercial albums: the release of his first ever composition, Winter Moons, a ballet commissioned by and dedicated to his mother out on Azica Records; the title track of Apollo Chamber Players' MoonStrike, also on Azica, a collection of works by Tate, Jennifer Higdon, and Pierre Jalbert; and The Lakota Music Project, a program of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra that addresses the racial tension pervasive among South Dakota's nine reservations by creating an environment of openness through music, out on Innova.

In spring 2023, Tate's new opera, Shell Shaker, receives its concert world premiere on February 24, 2023 at 7:00pm by Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra in Pratt Hall in Massachusetts, led by conductor Tian Hui Ng. Shell Shaker is the ancient legend of how the Chickasaw people received turtle shells as their traditional percussion instrument, and is sung entirely in the Chickasaw language. It is the first opera in history to feature an all-Native cast of leads: Katelyn Morton (Cherokee), Kirsten Kunkle (Muscogee) and Mark Billy (Choctaw).

Seattle Pro Musica presents the world premiere of Tate's The Glimmer, commissioned in honor of the series' 50th anniversary, on March 25, 2023. One of five exciting young composers commissioned to write new works for Seattle Pro Musica's milestone anniversary, Tate is setting the poem The Glimmer, by Washington state poet laureate Rena Priest.

On March 9, 2023, Apollo Chamber Players presents the Apollo Chamber Players in a performance of Tate's MoonStrike, narrated by astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. The concert in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall features new works by Jennifer Higdon, Pierre Jalbert, Erek Eryilmaz, and John Cornelius.

Mid-America Productions presents the New York premiere of Tate's Iholba' (The Vision) for orchestra, chorus, and solo flute - featuring Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra principal flutist Christine Davis - in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Iholba' was originally premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Upcoming performances of Tate's music also include his Pisachi (Reveal): Six Epitomes for String Quartet by the Sphere Ensemble (Nov. 18-19) in Denver, Colorado and by CityMusic Cleveland in Ohio (Nov. 18-19); Shakamaxon at the Norman Philharmonic (Nov. 17) in his native Oklahoma; and Chokfi' by the Longmont Symphony (Nov. 19) in Colorado, Mid-Texas Symphony (Apr. 2), and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (Apr. 29). The Diablo Wind Symphony in Lafayette, CA performs his Seminole Snake Dance (Nov. 20) and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Indiana (Feb. 11) and North Valley Symphony Orchestra in Phoenix, AZ (May 20) present excerpts from Tate's ballet and first ever composition, Winter Moons. His Shawi' Imanompa' (Raccoon Talk) is performed by the SOLI Chamber Ensemble in San Antonio, TX (Feb. 23); North Dakota's Bismarck Mandan Symphony presents Waktégli Olówaŋ (Mar. 11); and Clans receives performances from the University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra (Apr. 23) and Fresno Philharmonic (May 7).

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate 2022-2023 Season

November 17, 2022
Norman Philharmonic Performs Shakamaxon
McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church | Norman, OK
Link: https://www.normanphil.com/season

November 18 & 19, 2022
Sphere Ensemble Performs Pisachi
Mercury Cafe and Livestream, Boulder Public Library | Denver, CO
Link: https://www.sphereensemble.org/tickets

November 18 & 19, 2022
CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra Performs Pisachi
Performs PisachiPraxis Fiber Workshop | Cleveland, OH
Link: https://www.citymusiccleveland.org/current-season

November 19, 2022
Longmont Symphony Performs Chokfi'
Macky Auditorium Concert Hall | Longmont, CO
Link: https://longmontsymphony.org/concerts-events/

November 20, 2022
Diablo Wind Symphony Performs Seminole Snake Dance
Acalanes High School Performing Arts Theater | Lafayette, CA
Link: https://www.bluedevils.org/programs/diablo-wind-symphony/

November 27, 2022
Sphere Ensemble Performs Pisachi
Livestream
Link: https://www.sphereensemble.org/tickets

February 11, 2023
Fort Wayne Philharmonic Performs Spirit Chief Names the Animal People
Auer Performance Hall | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Link: https://fwphil.org/events/johnny-appleseed-goes-to-the-symphon

February 23, 2023
SOLI Chamber Ensemble Performs Shawi' Imanompa' (Raccoon Talk)
San Antonio Botanical Garden | San Antonio, TX
Link: https://solichamberensemble.com/voiced/

February 24, 2023
Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra Performs Shell Shaker [World Premiere]
Pratt Hall | South Hadley, Massachusetts
Link: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/academics/arts-mount-holyoke/music-ensembles/symphony-orchestra

March 25, 2023
Seattle Pro Musica Presents The Glimmer [World Premiere]
Seattle First Baptist Church | Seattle, WA
Link: https://www.seattlepromusica.org/the-glimmer

March 11, 2023
Bismarck Mandan Symphony Performs Waktégli Olówaŋ
Belle Mehus Auditorium | Bismarck, North Dakota
Link: https://bismarckmandansymphony.org/events/BetweenTwoCultures/

March 9, 2023
Apollo Chamber Players Presents MoonStrike
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall | New York, NY
Link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2023/03/09/Apollo-Chamber-Players-0800PM

April 2, 2023
Mid-Texas Symphony Performs Chokfi'
Canyon High School Performing Arts Center | New Braunfels, Texas
Link: https://www.mtsymphony.org/Info/Events/Events.aspx

April 23, 2023
University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra Performs Clans
Catlett Music Center | Norman, OK
Link: https://www.ou.edu/finearts/music/performances-events

April 29, 2023
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas Performs Chokfi'
Walton Arts Center | Fayetteville, Arkansas
Link: https://www.sonamusic.org/ticketed-performances/evoking-folklore-2023

May 7, 2023
Fresno Philharmonic Performs Clans
William Saroyan Theatre | Fresno, CA
Link: https://fresnophil.org/events/new-worlds-2/

May 20, 2023
North Valley Symphony Orchestra Performs Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls
North Canyon High School Auditorium | Phoenix, AZ
Link: https://www.northvalleysymphony.org/events-calendar-1/2023/5/20/spirit-of-the-ameican-west

June 3, 2023
Mid-America International Presents Iholba' (The Vision) [World Premiere]
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall | New York, NY
Link: www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2023/06/03/MidAmerica-Productions-Concert-Series-0700PM

About Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a classical composer, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, and is dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition. The Washington Post raves 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."

Tate is a 2022 Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee, a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from The Cleveland Institute of Music and was appointed 2021 Cultural Ambassador for the U. S. Department of State. He is Guest Composer, conductor, and pianist for San Francisco Symphony's Currents Program, Thunder Song: American Indian Musical Cultures, and was recently Guest Composer for Metropolitan Museum of Art's Balcony Bar Program, Home with ETHEL and Friends, featuring his commissioned work Pisachi (Reveal) for String Quartet.

His commissioned works have been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Canterbury Voices, Dale Warland Singers, Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Recent commissions include Shell Shaker: A Chickasaw Opera for Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, Ghost of the White Deer Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra for Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Hózhó (Navajo Strong) and Ithánali (I Know) for White Snake Opera Company. His music was recently featured on the HBO series Westworld.

Tate has held Composer-in-Residence positions for Music Alive, a national residency program of the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA, the Joyce Foundation/American Composers Forum, Oklahoma City's NewView Summer Academy, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Grand Canyon Music Festival Native American Composer Apprentice Project. Tate was the founding composition instructor for the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy and has taught composition to American Indian high school students in Minneapolis, the Hopi, Navajo, and Lummi reservations and Native students in Toronto.

Tate is a three-time commissioned recipient from the American Composers Forum, a Chamber Music America's 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.

In addition to his work based upon his Chickasaw culture, Tate has worked with the music and language of multiple tribes, such as: Choctaw, Navajo, Cherokee, Ojibway, Creek, Pechanga, Comanche, Lakota, Hopi, Tlingit, Lenape, Tongva, Shawnee, Caddo, Ute, Aleut, Shoshone, Cree, Paiute, and Salish/Kootenai.

Among available recorded works are 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; vocal soloists Stephen Clark, Chelsea Owen, Meghan Vera Starling; and narrators Lynne Moroney, Wes Studi, Richard Ray Whitman. Of the album, Sequenza21 wrote, "Tate has clearly taken the Western musical tradition and found a compelling voice that integrates his native culture." His Metropolitan Museum of Art commission, Pisachi (Reveal), is featured on ETHEL String Quartet's album Documerica. In summer 2022, Azica Records will release Tate's first ever composition, Winter Moons, and also his Moonstrike, recorded by Apollo Chamber Players.

Tate earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, where he studied with Dr. Donald Isaak, and his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Elizabeth Pastor and Dr. Donald Erb. He has performed as First Keyboard on the Broadway national tours of LES MISERABLES and Miss Saigon and been a guest pianist and accompanist for the Colorado Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and numerous ballet and dance companies.

Tate's middle name, Impichchaachaaha', means "his high corncrib" and is his inherited traditional Chickasaw house name. A corncrib is a small hut used for the storage of corn and other vegetables. In traditional Chickasaw culture, the corncrib was built high off the ground on stilts to keep its contents safe from foraging animals. Learn more at www.jerodtate.com.

Photo Credit: Shevaun Williams

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