Finding a Voice: Fostering Indigenous Composers – Radio Version

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This week’s program takes the Arizona PBS documentary Finding a Voice: Fostering Indigenous Composers, telling the story of the Native American Composer Apprentice Project, including full length compositions by both students of the program and their instructors.

Over the past 20 years, the Grand Canyon Music Festival’s outreach efforts have grown into the fully-fledged Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP) providing levels of access to music education that are scarce in rural areas.

In the fall of 2023, the team at Central Sound at Arizona PBS followed NACAP’s resident quartet throughout the Navajo Nation to schools involved in the project, capturing the process as well as interviewing students, performers and composers.

The goal of NACAP is to provide opportunities for young Native American students to find their musical voices, and in this program, we highlight the two current NACAP composers, one of whom won the Pulitzer Prize in Music and the other is an alumnus of the project.

To watch the documentary, visit Finding a Voice: Fostering Indigenous Composers.

View Production Credits

Xavier Ben – Copper – Catalyst Quartet

Mark O’Connor – Sadness/Darlin’ Waltz – Joe Deninzon, electric violin, mandolin; Clare Hoffman, flute; Robert Bonfiglio, harmonica; Stephen Benson, guitar

Astor Piazzolla – Angel Suite – Catalyst Quartet

  • IV. La Resurreccion del Angel

Brayden Kinsel – All the Life – Catalyst Quartet

Haileigh-Autumn Roberts – A Fall to Spring – Catalyst Quartet

Jerrod Tate – Woodland Songs – Dover Quartet

  • I. Squirrel

Hallie “Ari” Thompson – Chaotic Obsessions – Catalyst Quartet

Raven Chacon – Voiceless Mass – True Concord; Eric Holtan, conductor

Ethan Haceesa – Suave – Catalyst Quartet

Michael Begay – Four Coyotes – Grant Houston, violin; Bengisu Gokce, violin; Jay Julio, viola; Nicholas Johnson, cello

Matthias Nabahe – Todich’ii’nii – Catalyst Quartet

Kylie Kinsel – Morning Coffee – Catalyst Quartet

Rodney Yazzie – Posessed by Obscurity – ETHEL

Timira Scott – Seasonal Change – Catalyst Quartet

Mikell Yazzie – Untitled – Catalyst Quartet

Kirri Schaefer – Time Broke: It’s All About March – Catalyst Quartet

Ian Honnie – Scheria – Catalyst Quartet

Jireh Garcia – Gha’ha – Catalyst Quartet

Alexandre Banally-Begay – When Love is Kind – Catalyst Quartet

Harley Chee – Fallen Point – Catalyst Quartet

Christina Shupla – Always – Catalyst Quartet

Maria Macaraig – Where I Can’t Follow – Catalyst Quartet

Elijah Ben – Snowfall – Catalyst Quartet

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