This program is a musical journey that centers living Indigenous voices and looks at the American orchestral tradition through a local, contemporary lens. We open with Jack Kilpatrick’s Sonatina for Chamber Orchestra: Souvenir of the Ozarks, Op. 11. Kilpatrick (1915-1967) is a Cherokee composer, born in Stilwell, OK, who had written almost 550 works throughout his life. Many of these works were considered lost, until 31 boxes of his manuscripts were found in the Catlett Music Center at the University of Oklahoma. 

From there, we continue with Connor Chee's Bassoon Concerto. Chee is a Diné composer, and hearing his voice performed within the symphonic tradition brings Indigenous creative expression directly into the concert hall. The piece features Dr. Jacqueline Wilson (Yakama) on bassoon, whose work focuses on Native American and Indigenous self-representation and artistic sovereignty.

Heard in this context, Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World, is presented not as a starting point but as a response, inviting you to reconsider the influences that shaped the American sound.

Note: Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the event start time.