Native American Inspirations - A MUSIC DRAMA IN VOICE

Shenandoah Conservatory students (choral, operatic, dance, theatre) present a new multi-disciplinary music-drama designed to amplify and celebrate the musical world, culture and heritage of Native Americans. This new work will centre around Native American inspiration, drawing together its rich and unique musical and creative history and its intersection with contemporary classical music and opera. Specifically, it will amalgamate the world of Native American composers who have contributed to operatic and choral repertoire and dramas. Composers include: Brent Michael Davis, Russell Wallace, Louis Ballard, Dawn Avery and Jennifer Stevens. With their insight and guidance, our goal is to bring their compositions together into one cohesive whole music-drama (of around 45 minutes), enabling their collected music to give new life to Native American history and storytelling. This work pushes the boundaries of vocal performance being performed entirely a capella with handheld percussion, and integrates music, theatre, and dance in order to explore the potential of what contemporary American music drama can be. It pays homage to the history of our Conservatory itself (named after the Native American legend of Zynodoa), and has the potential to offer European and American audiences alike a greater awareness into the story of the land on which we reside, learn and educate.