New York, NY – With works described as “rich, provocative and moving” (The New York Times), Emmy-winning composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate has earned a unique place in classical music as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who channels American Indian history and culture through the classical medium. Across three albums, performances by major orchestras and inclusion in an episode of HBO’s Westworld, Tate is admired for work “that fundamentally affirms the value and reinvigorates the vitality of Chickasaw … language, stories, cultural traditions, and communities” (I Care if You Listen).
During the 2023/2024 season, Tate and his work will be featured in numerous live performances, including key commissions from the New York Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Turtle Island Quartet, and Cantori New York,along with a guest-conducting appearance of his own work with the Akron Symphony and residencies with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Canterbury Voices and University of Oklahoma. He conducts the world premiere of a new CityMusic Clevelandcommission – Kokumthena (“Cloud Woman”) – for soprano and orchestra, sung entirely in the Shawnee language with Muscogee Creek soprano Kirsten Kunkle as featured soloist, and in October 2023, he records a new album with flutist Patricia Surman as part of a residency at Metropolitan State College.
As part of its Island Prayers program – a four-city tour this fall, concluding at Lincoln Center – the Turtle Island Quartet performs the world premiere of Tate’s Little Loksi', as part of the quartet's first multi-composer commissioning project. Based on Chickasaw author Trey Hays’ book of the same title, the piece tells the story of Little Loksi' (“little turtle”), who sets out on an adventure with his parents, only to encounter turbulent weather that flips him helplessly on his back. In the lively adventure that follows, a community of woodland animals led by Nashoba (wolf) pool their unique talents to turn Little Loksi' back over – ending in a glorious success and a triumphant stomp dance among the animals to celebrate their teamwork. Deeply informed by Southeastern American Indian melodies, the work is dedicated both to Hays and to the composer’s son, Heloha Tate. Besides Tate’s composition, inspired by the pan-Indian legend inspiring the Turtle Island Quartet's name, the Island Prayers features world premieres by Terence Blanchard and Rhiannon Giddens. A co-commission with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Meany Performing Arts Center, The Music Hall, Savannah Music Hall, and Emory University, Island Prayers has its world premiere on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7:30PM at the Meany Center, University of Seattle, in Seattle, WA. The tour continues on Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 7:30PM at The Argyros in Ketchum, ID. A third performance will be held Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 7:30PMat the Scottsdale Center for the Arts in Scottsdale, AZ. Turtle Island Quartet closes the fall tour at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 7:30PM. At Lincoln Center, the program will be presented as part of a year-long celebration of Blanchard, See Me As I Am.
At Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, Tate’s Pisachi will be premiered by the New York Philharmonic on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30PM, Friday, March 8 at 8:00PM, and Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 8:00PM. Dedicated to Tate’s late colleague and friend James Lujan (Taos Pueblo), this work draws influence from Pueblo and Hopi styles – employed by Tate to honor his Southwest Indian cousins through expressive classical repertoire. Originally commissioned by the string quartet ETHEL, Pisachi was newly commissioned in this full string orchestra version by the New York Philharmonic. The concert program also features New York Philharmonic debuts by conductor Elim Chan and cellist Sol Gabetta, performing Bohuslav Martinů’s First Cello Concerto.
The next week, Tate serves as narrator for the New York premiere of his work Clans, a major movement from his longer composition Lowak Shoppala' in a new orchestral arrangement. Carnegie Hall presents the American Composers Orchestra in the arrangement's NY premiere at Zankel Hall on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 7:30PM. Inspired by Chickasaw author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Linda Hogan’s Poem “Fire and Light” – the English translation of the title – Lowak Shoppala' portrays a suite of legends from Chickasaw lore. The eight-part movement Clans depicts a gathering of the historic clans within the Chickasaw nation, most of them represented by animals. In this concert version conducted by Rei Hotoda, the composition will be performed alongside pieces by Kurt Weill, George Atheil and Duke Ellington – as well as new works by Tonia Ko andJohn Glover, both making their world premieres. Clans is also featured in a concert by the Akron Symphony on Friday, September 29, 2023 at 7:30PM, with Tate appearing alongside Music Director Christopher Wilkins as guest conductor and Tate’s son Heloha as vocal soloist. For this program, Tate’s work is paired with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Tate’s New York schedule also includes Cantori New York’s commissioned world premiere of the revised version of Tate’s Found Again at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at 8:00PM and Sunday, November 5 at 3:00PM. Composed to the poetry of Joy Harjo's Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, this four-part song cycle for vocal quartet and piano, with optional children’s chorus, represents a deep exploration of human relationships. The weekend’s program also includes Caroline Shaw’s Ochre, making its New York premiere, and John Rommereim’s Beauty by Beauty, making its world premiere.
In October 2023, Richmond, VA-based string quartet Rosette performs five separate works by Tate across five Richmond venues as part of its So Hot Right Now series spotlighting outstanding living composers. Pisachi is featured on all five programs, along with selections from Moonstrike, a work commissioned by the Apollo Chamber players to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Drawing on three diverse American Indian legends, Tate’s work highlights common themes surrounding trickster characters who covet the moon and its powers. The first performance will be held Sunday, October 1, 2023at a private home in Richmond’s Museum District (address provided upon ticket purchase). Performances at four other Richmond venues will follow: Thursday, October 12, 2023at 7:00PM at the Artspace gallery; Wednesday, October 18, 2023at 7:00PM at Minimum Wage Recording; Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 7:00PM at Sub Rosa Bakery; and Monday, October 30, 2023 at 6:30PM at the Westover Hills Library.
From October 10-12, 2023, Tate takes part in a residency at Colorado’s Metropolitan State College, hosted by flutist Patricia Surman. The schedule opens with two masterclasses, both free and open to the public: On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at 11:00AM, Tate hosts “Flute and Piano Coaching on Heloha Okchamali with Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate.” On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at 2:30PM, he leads “Exploring Tate’s Woodwind Compositional Process.” On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at 4:30PM, Tate serves as guest narrator for a performance of his chamber works, to be recorded and released as a new album. On Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 7:30PM, Surman performs as soloist in Tate’s flute concerto, Tracing Mississippi.
In other performances across the U.S. this season, Tate’s work Chokfi' will feature in more than a dozen concert programs. Commissioned by Oklahoma Youth Orchestras, Chokfi' (Rabbit)is a playful yet challenging piece, popular with performers and audiences of all ages, that plays off the rabbit’s trickster role in Chickasaw legend. In its first performance this season, Chokfi' will be featured in a program by the Spokane Symphony on Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7:30PM and Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 3:00PM. The work will next be performed by the Northwestern State University Symphony on Tuesday, September 26 at 7:30PM. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra performs Chokfi' in a total of 16 concerts this season, all as part of Untold Stories of the West, a mainstay of the orchestra’s popular Youth Concerts series. Concerts will be held October 24 and 25, 2023; November 7 and 8, 2023; January 30 and 31, 2024; and February 27 and 28, 2024– always with dual performances at 10:00AM and 11:30AM on each date. On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 7:30PM,Chokfi' features in a program by the University of New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. The Symphonia of Boca Raton, Florida, will perform the piece in its season-opening concert Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 3:00PM. In the New Year’s first scheduled performance of Tate’s compositions, the YakimaSymphony Orchestra will feature Chokfi' during its program A Little Night Music on Tuesday, January 19, 2024 at 7:30PM. The San Juan Symphony performs the work in mid-February at two separate venues: at the Community Concert Center (Durango, CO) on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 7:30PM, and at the Henderson Performance Hall(Farmington, NM) on Sunday, February 11 at 1:00PM. As part of an Earth Day concert, Oceana, the Santa Fe Symphonyperforms Chokfi' on Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 4:00PM. In its final performance of the season, the work will be performed by the South Bend Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 7:30PM.
Tate’s work Spirit Chief Names the Animal People, composed for chamber orchestra and narrator, will also feature on several concert programs during the 2023/2024 season. Originally a movement within Tate’s composition Winter Moons, the work tells the Okanagan story of how all the earth’s animals were given names, and arranged in a hierarchy, by the Great Spirit Chief. The Coyote – often depicted as a conceited, scheming figure in American Indian lore – plays a special role in the tale, conniving to claim the proudest name and position for himself. In a twist, his scheme fails and almost leaves him with nothing – but because he humbles himself before the Great Spirit Chief, he is forgiven and allowed to keep a respected name and place in the animal kingdom. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People will first be performed this season by the Minnesota Orchestra in a children’s program on Wednesday, October 26 and Thursday, October 26, 2023, with performances on both days at 10:00AM and 11:35AM. In its own family program, Johnny Appleseed Goes to the Symphony,the Fort Wayne Philharmonic performs Spirit Chief Names the Animal People on Saturday, April 6 at 11:00AM, then the Seattle Symphony will perform the piece on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 11:00AM.
A second movement from Winter Moons – The Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls – will also be featured as a standalone work this season. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra will perform the piece as part of its program Masterworks III: Winter Wonders on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 7:30PM. The work captures the beautiful and tragic Shoshone tale of lovers swept away in the Snake River west of Yellowstone Park – the woman giving desperate chase for her beloved before being pulled under herself. In this program, the piece is juxtaposed with works by Mozart, Handel and John Harbison.
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate 2023-2024 Season
September 16 & 17, 2023
Spokane Symphony Performs Chokfi'
Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox | Spokane, WA
Link: foxtheaterspokane.org/event/masterworks-1-a-place-called-home/
September 29, 2023
Akron Symphony Performs Clans
E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall | Akron, OH
Link: akronsymphony.org/product/classic-series-subscriptions/
October 1, 2023
Rosette Presents Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is So Hot Right Now
Museum District | Richmond, VA
Link: https://checkout.square.site/buy/FFKQJAZCVWN35AUWJB3A2FXB
October 6, 2023
Turtle Island Quartet Performs Little Loksi'
Meany Center, University of Seattle | Seattle, WA
Link: https://turtleislandquartet.com/events/island-prayers/
October 7, 2023
Turtle Island Quartet PerformsLittle Loksi'
The Argyros | Ketchum, ID
Link: https://turtleislandquartet.com/events/island-prayers-2/
October 11, 2023
Metropolitan State University Presents Visiting Artist Series: Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, Composer
King Center Recital Hall | Denver, CO
Link: https://www.msudenver.edu/music/events/
October 12, 2023
MSU Denver Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra Feat. Patricia Surman Perform Flute Concerto, Tracing Mississippi
King Center Concert Hall | Denver, CO
Link: https://www.msudenver.edu/music/events/
October 12, 2023
Rosette Presents Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is So Hot Right Now
Artspace | Richmond, VA
Link: https://checkout.square.site/buy/ADWMDKJOZRGJAREDJATI3Y2X
October 15, 2023
Turtle Island Quartet Performs Little Loksi'
Scottsdale Center for the Arts | Scottsdale, AZ
Link: https://turtleislandquartet.com/events/island-prayers-3/
October 18, 2023
Rosette Presents Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is So Hot Right Now
Minimum Wage Recording | Richmond, VA
Link: www.eventbrite.com/e/jerod-impichchaachaaha-tate-is-so-hot-right-now-tickets-708705064927?aff=oddtdtcreator
October 22, 2023
Rosette Presents Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is So Hot Right Now
Sub Rosa Bakery | Richmond, VA
Link: https://firstcreatures.com/so-hot-right-now
October 27, 2023
Turtle Island Quartet Performs Little Loksi'
Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall | New York, NY
Link: https://turtleislandquartet.com/events/island-prayers-4/
October 30, 2023
Rosette Presents Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is So Hot Right Now
Westover Hills Library | Richmond, VA
Link: https://firstcreatures.com/so-hot-right-now
October 24-25, 2023
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Boettcher Concert Hall | Denver, CO
Link: coloradosymphony.org/education/schools-teachers/youth-concerts/
October 25-26, 2023
Minnesota Orchestra Performs Spirit Chief Names the Animal People
Orchestra Hall | Minneapolis, MN
Link: minnesotaorchestra.org/tickets/calendar/young-peoples/philharmonia-fantastique-the-making-of-an-orchestra/
November 4-5, 2023
Cantori New York Performs FOUND AGAIN
Church of the Holy Trinity | New York, NY
Link: www.cantorinewyork.com
November 7-8, 2023
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Boettcher Concert Hall | Denver, CO
Link: coloradosymphony.org/education/schools-teachers/youth-concerts/
November 9, 2023
University of New Mexico Symphony Orchestra PerformsChokfi'
Immanuel Presbyterian Church | Albuquerque, NM
Link: music.unm.edu/events-calendar/
November 16, 2023, 7:30pm
Ilhoba' (the vision) (Chorale)
Norman Philharmonic & Chorale
Link: www.ou.edu/finearts/music/choirs
November 19, 2023
The Symphonia Performs Chokfi'
Roberts Theater | Boca Raton, FL
Link: thesymphonia.org/attend/2023-promotional-pdf/
December 2, 2023
Quad City Symphony Orchestra Performs The Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls
Adler Theater | Davenport, IA
Link: qcso.org/event/masterworks-iii-winter-wonders/
January 13, 2024
Yakima Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Capitol Theatre | Yakima, WA
Link: www.ysomusic.org/concerts-events/2023-24-classical-concerts/classical-iii/
January 30-31, 2024
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Boettcher Concert Hall | Denver, CO
Link: coloradosymphony.org/education/schools-teachers/youth-concerts/
February 10, 2024
San Juan Symphony PerformsChokfi'
Community Concert Hall | Durango, CO
Link: sanjuansymphony.org/event/passionate/
February 11, 2024
San Juan Symphony Performs Chokfi'
Henderson Performance Hall | Farmington, NM
Link: sanjuansymphony.org/event/passionate-2/
February 27-28, 2024
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Boettcher Concert Hall | Denver, CO
Link: coloradosymphony.org/education/schools-teachers/youth-concerts/
March 7-9, 2024
New York Philharmonic Performs Pisachi
Lincoln Center (David Geffen Hall) | New York, NY
Link: nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2324/lalo-scheherazade
March 12, 2024
American Composers Orchestra Performs Clans
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall) | New York, NY
Link: carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2024/03/12/American-Composers-Orchestra-0730PM
April 6, 2024
Fort Wayne Philharmonic Performs Spirit Chief Names the Animal People
Arts United Center | Fort Wayne, IN
Link: fwphil.org/events/johnny-appleseed-goes-to-the-symphony-2
April 21, 2024
Santa Fe Symphony Performs Chokfi'
The Lensic | Santa Fe, NM
Link: boxoffice.santafesymphony.org/8739
May 4, 2024
South Bend Symphony Orchestra Performs Chokfi'
Morris Performing Arts Center | South Bend, IN
Link: southbendsymphony.org/events/6071/
May 4, 2024
Seattle Symphony Performs Spirit Chief Names the Animal People
Benaroya Hall | Seattle, WA
Link: www.seattlesymphony.org/en/concerttickets/calendar/2023-2024/23fam4#:~:text=Journey%20along%20with%20the%20Great,for%20certain%20names%20and%20powers
May 30, 2024
City Music Cleveland Presents Jerod Tate Conducts Jerod Tate
Fairmount Presbyterian Church | Cleveland Heights, OH
Link: www.citymusiccleveland.org/23-24-schedule/october-orchestra-series-92emr-hlb8h-65jdw-f5grb-wkhm5-nb6f7-9h6nn-52p96-ftwdr-86bll-bts42-tjnk4-dbfrx-5bp73-hspza-apdl7
May 31, 2024
City Music Cleveland Presents Jerod Tate Conducts Jerod Tate
St. Noel Catholic Church | Willoughby Hills, OH
Link: www.citymusiccleveland.org/23-24-schedule/october-orchestra-series-92emr-hlb8h-65jdw-f5grb-wkhm5-nb6f7-9h6nn-52p96-ftwdr-86bll-bts42-tjnk4-dbfrx-5bp73-hspza-apdl7-fns2e
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, Sequenza21wrote, “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 Misérables 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.
