S2, E10: Shell Shaker: A Chickasaw Opera, Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate, Chickasaw Composer
“Chickasaw legend tells of a girl who is teased by other children and named Loksi’—Turtle—for her slowness. Upon the counsel of a river, she goes to live in the forest. There, she finds hospitality among the turtle people. One day, the god of the turtles asks her to tell her fellow humans to treat turtles with respect and kindness, and gives her a gift of turtle shells filled with pebbles and seeds to bring back with her. The rattles were adopted by the people of Loksi’ and used to accompany dances and ceremonies, a reminder to treat the natural world with care.”* (from interactive.wttw.com)
As a former opera singer with a music degree, I’m ecstatic about today’s Native ChocTalk episode! Here we have something unprecedented - an opera in an American Indian language (Chickasaw), by an American Indian Composer (Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate), and we all should be celebrating this enormous breakthrough in Native arts!
In this episode, Jerod discusses with me (like the music nerds we are):
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements, as this opera is most likely going live November of 2022 at UMass Amherst!
Three cheers for these talented folks, as well as the singers!
Find and follow Jerod Tate here:
*https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/11/23/jerod-impichchaachaaha-tate
All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/
Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast
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