ABOUT THE CONCERT

This West Coast premiere features a landmark collection of vocal music by Indigenous composers from across the U.S. and Canada. Curated by Timothy Long—conductor, pianist, and Director of Opera at Eastman School of Music—the North American Indigenous Songbook was born from Long’s vision to expand and uplift the canon of Native art song, a repertoire that, until now, has been largely invisible in the classical tradition.

“There is no repertoire like this in existence,” says Long, whose personal and musical journey—shaped by his family’s survival through boarding schools and systemic erasure—fuels this bold and deeply human project. Conceived in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the Songbook stands as both a cultural reckoning and an artistic act of reclamation.

This concert offers audiences a rare opportunity to hear powerful new works grounded in tradition, experimentation, and lived experience—music that redefines what belongs in the canon.

Also featured is composer/conductor Danielle Jagelski (Oneida Nation and Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe), who will lead the premiere of her newest choral work, Holy Ground—alongside other pieces that speak to resilience, identity, and ancestral memory.