"Education is not so much filling a bucket as lighting a fire." — William
Butler Yeats
"The program needs to continue if Native American
composers are to be heard. This program creates the perfect
environment for the musical growth of these talented students.
— Blair Quamahongnewa,
Hopi High School
music teacher
"When we first walked into the
room we were a band of highly trained, slightly intimidating
classical musicians; after the reading we became a creative
tool that had to be shaped into what they (the students) heard
in their heads." — Andrew Bulbrook,
Calder Quartet
NACAP 2004 Quartet-in-Residence
Since 1984, the Grand Canyon Music Festival has
been dedicated to bringing the world’s finest musicians
to Grand Canyon National Park in celebration of the power
and beauty
of this magnificent World Heritage site. Since 1985,
the Festival has extended this gift of music to the students
of northern
Arizona’s under-served and rural communities, primarily
at schools on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. In 2001,
the Festival initiated its Native American Composers Apprentice
Project (NACAP) to extend its outreach to training talented Native
American students in the art of composition.
"The Grand Canyon Music Festival is
a great place to debut a person's song; the people at the festival
make you feel good."
— Kevin Poneoma, NACAP 2002 student
Hopi High School
The Vision
"I want to see my
people out there in the world not just on the reservation, all
Natives. In music, you can change things, make people feel and
think." — NACAP
2002 student
In 2001 no Native American composition students were enrolled in music conservatories. Only a handful of formally-educated Native American composers are working today.
NACAP addresses the root causes of
this scarcity of Native American voices on the American music scene: the
lack of quality — or, in too many cases, any — music programs
in schools; lack of role models; lack of access to cultural institutions;
and cultural biases.
 NACAP
was conceived in 2000 during the initial residency of composer
Brent Michael Davids at the Festival, where his
striking work “Guardians of the Grand Canyon” was
presented as part of the Continental Harmony Millennium Celebration.
The piece inspired Havasupai elder Rex Talusi to note that it was through this kind of collaboration, young Native Americans working with their traditions in new ways, that their culture would live on.
This sentiment inspired the Festival’s
Artistic Director, Clare Hoffman, and the composer,
to develop the Native American Composers Apprentice Project,
with the vision of creating a pool of young Native
American composers.
NACAP develops musical literacy and enhances critical thinking
and decision making skills through the study of music composition.
It introduces students
to European "classical" music techniques, develops their understanding
of their own musical heritages and how to use that knowledge to develop
their own compositional voices. Native American students interested in
advanced study in any field face unique challenges to their aspirations. “Major
colleges… often view the talent on the reservations as a risky investment. … They
fear American Indians will ditch their scholarships once they get homesick.” The
New York Times, June 17, 2001. NACAP nurtures the musical talents
of Native American students, helps them prepare for music study at the
college and conservatory level, and gives them a window through which to
view and understand professional careers in music.
The Festival administers the Native American Composers’ Apprentice
Program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Chamber Music
America with support from The Helen F. Whitaker Fund and the Chamber Music
America Residency Endowment Fund; WESTAF, the Western State Arts Federation and
the National Endowment for the Arts; the Arizona Commission of the Arts with
funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts; and
the ASCAP Foundation. Expansion of NACAP to Whitehorse High School in Utah is
funded in part by the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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The Grand
Canyon Music Festival’s
Native American Composers Apprentice Project
lights fires!
NACAP student
music scores.
The Program
"(NACAP
students') expressions of first wonder and then pride at hearing
their music were palpable." — Dr. Patricia
A. Shifferd, Director of Assessment, American Composers
Forum
Composer-in-Residence Raven Chacon (Navajo) works with high
school students selected for their interest and talent in music.
During a rigourous three week priod each student receives intense
one-on-one instruction from and interaction with the composer
on the art and technique of composition, from inspiration to
notation to performance. Subjects covered include comparative
discussion of western music theory and composition and oral
traditions of indigenous cultures, overview of western and native
instruments, music notation, orchestration, and artistic expression.
During the Grand Canyon Music Festival's September season, student
composers workshop their pieces with resident NACAP string quartets
and attend rehearsals and concerts.
Student compositions are premiered and recorded during the Grand Canyon Music Festival season, and are the focus of outreach to 10 Navajo and Hopi Reservation schools. Each of the young composers receives a portfolio of their NACAP work, including a professionally copied score and professionally recorded CD.
"Bonding
between cultures comes when there is a common goal. Students,
composers, string
quartet, teachers, families, came together for a common goal,
the creation and presentation of new works." — Jerod
Impichchaachaaha' Tate, NACAP Composer-in-Residence, 2004-2005
In 2002, NACAP expanded its reach
to Maricopa County through partnerships with the Heard Museum,
to Scottsdale Community College in 2003, Salt River High School
in 2004-05, and Chinle High School. In 2008, we welcome Whitehorse
High School on the Navajo Resevation. NACAP partner schools
have included Hopi High School, Monument Valley High School
in Kayenta, Grey Hills Academy, Tuba City High School, Chinle
High School, Tuba City Boarding School, Second Mesa Day School,
Shonto Community School, First Mesa Community School, Grand
Canyon School, Chilchinbeto Community School and the Flagstaff
Arts and Leadership Academy.
NACAP Artists
Composers-in-Residence
Brent Michael Davids (Mohican Nation)
2001-2002
David Mallamud
2003
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw)
2004-2005
Raven Chacon (Navajo)
2004-present
Adam Overton
2006
Quartets-in-Residence
Miró Quartet, 2001 NACAP Quartet-in-Residence
Corigliano Quartet, 2002 NACAP Quartet-in-Residence
Avalon Quartet, 2003 NACAP Quartet-in-Residence
Calder Quartet, 2004 NACAP Quartet-in-Residence
ETHEL, 2005-present NACAP Quartet-in-Residence
Funds for ETHEL's NACAP residency have been provided by Chamber
Music America with support from The Helen F. Whitaker Fund
and the Chamber Music America Residency Endowment Fund. Grand
Canyon Music Festival is a member of Chamber Music America.
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