FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Blossom Crews,
Director of Development
(405) 232-7575 blossom@okcphil.org
Oklahoma City – Oklahoma City Philharmonic is pleased to announce it has received a $20,000 grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation through its Culture & Community Grant program. This grant is one of 27 awarded, totaling $412,000, to support arts and culture programs and organizations in Oklahoma.
The grant will be used for the American Indian Symphony which will allow Oklahoma City Philharmonic to expand access to its programs and services to new audiences. These grants are awarded to assist nonprofit partners who advance local culture, art, history, and traditions unique to Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma City Philharmonic has commissioned Chickasaw composer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate to create the American Indian Symphony, a six-movement work incorporating vocal components in six Native languages. The work will feature soprano Kristen Kunkle, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and baritone Mark Billy, from the Choctaw Nation, Canterbury Voices and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. The composer will engage with tribal translators, linguists, and poets, to capture oral histories and traditions to produce a new mode of expression by creating native librettos. He will also work directly with the choir to aid in pronunciation and to create a better understanding of the culturally significant texts.
The world premiere of the American Indian Symphony will be performed live in the OKCPHIL’s home venue, the Civic Center Music Hall, on Saturday, April 19, 2025, as part of the 2024-25 Classics Series. Community engagement and education activities will take place during the season.
“We are grateful to receive this grant which supports a project celebrating our State’s people and sharing our history through music. The work is in six movements, each dedicated to a different cultural region of Indian Country, composed in honor of Tate’s Native cousins. It features a full orchestra, full chorus, and two American Indian opera soloists – Kirsten Kunkle (Muscogee) and Grant Youngblood (Lumbee) – singing in Apache, Chickasaw, Cheyenne, Modoc, Potawatomi, and Wichita. Native Americans have changed history through their contributions to the arts and this work will allow Native people to be heard, vocally and symphonically, on the world concert stage. This is the first orchestral composition to celebrate American Indian culture from such vast regions. It has tremendous potential to bring greater awareness, understanding, and appreciation for Native people and their culture.” said Brent Hart, Executive Director of the OKC Philharmonic.
About OKC Philharmonic
OKC Philharmonic was founded in 1988 and celebrates over 30 years of beautiful music in Oklahoma City. Under the direction of Alexander Mickelthwate, the orchestra performs Classics, Orchestral Pops, and Discovery Family concerts, as well as a variety of community engagements. Our mission exists to provide inspiration and joy for the community through orchestral music. For more information contact us at okcphil.org 424 Colcord Drive, Suite B, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
About the Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Founded in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that works with donors throughout the state to create charitable funds that will benefit our community both now and in the future. For more information, visit www.occf.org.
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