OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Wichita, Potawatomi, Apache, Chickasaw, Modoc, and Cheyenne. These are the six languages and six movements that make up the bulk of the performances of the “American Indian Symphony,” which held its world premiere at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City on April 19.
The performance was organized by its Chickasaw composer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and included performances by Mvskoke soprano Kirsten C. Kunkle, and Choctaw baritone Mark Billy.
Kunkle, Billy, and Tate spoke with Mvskoke Media’s LiveWire about their work with the “American Indian Symphony.”
Kunkle and Billy also took some time to explain their process for singing in multiple languages, and how, given their classical training, it was easier than expected to sing in these multiple Indigenous languages.
“As a classically trained singer, you sort of get brought up being thrown into new languages, and it’s just part of the deal. … We’ve had some exposure and some help from some first-language speakers, so they were the translators and we got to work one-on-one with them.” Billy said.
“Every single one of these translators have told us that to hear our big powerful operatic voices singing their language has been such a blessing to them. We just have to be very diligent, and use our wits to get through the language and to do it justice.”
Kunkle echoed these statements. She was quite proud of the work that had been put in by all parties involved.
“It’s kind of meant to be a gift to all of the nations of Oklahoma,” Kunkle said.
Composer Jerod Tate agreed and explained why he made this symphony.
“I wanted a work that had several movements that paid homage to six different tribes that represented six major cultural regions in Indian Country and the state of Oklahoma. It’s kind of like an Indian Country patriotic piece in that sense,” Tate said.
Tate also described what it was like making the different pieces of this symphony, and his own background in ballet and theatre. With his work in ballet and being a “theatre brat” while working with his mother, a choreographer and dancer, he was unknowingly learning how to orchestrate and set up productions like this.
Tate also shared taking inspiration directly from the tribes’ cultures in some cases. “It’s not direct singing like you would see in a social or ceremonial sense. The melodies within the pieces are highly influenced by the different tribes, and then the poetry is like me talking about the tribes and what I think is really cool about them. So I’ve internalized a lot of that and express it very much like visual American Indian artists do as well,” Tate said.
More information on the production of Tate’s “American Indian Symphony” and on future performances held by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic can be found online at https://www.okcphil.org/concerts/world-premiere/.
