In Friday’s (1/11) Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Jill Callison writes, “Composer Jerod Tate says he drew his inspiration for a song cycle he wrote for the Lakota Music Project from a book and from real life. The book, ‘Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains’ by Charles Eastman, a Santee Sioux, includes the biographies of Native American leaders such as Crazy Horse, Gall and Two Strike. ‘Most of the poetry written by me and translated into Lakota was inspired by Eastman’s words,’ says Tate. … Tate’s piece will premiere Saturday during a South Dakota Symphony Orchestra performance at the Washington Pavilion’s Mary W. Sommervold Hall. Delta David Gier will conduct the orchestra, while baritone Stephen Bryant is the soloist. Tate actually composed two different versions of the six-part piece, which includes an introduction and stories in music of five different Lakota leaders. The premiere with the full orchestra will be followed by a tour around South Dakota with a chamber orchestra. That is the latest phase of the Lakota Music Project, which was created between 2005 and 2008 after Gier was named SDSO conductor.” Click here to read Jennifer Melick’s interview of Gier, which spotlights the Lakota Music project, on SymphonyNOW.
Posted January 14, 2013
