Jerod Tate's "Children's Songs"

Synopsis

The American composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and its Composer-in-Residence. He was born in Norman, Oklahoma, and his chamber and orchestra works, all infused with themes and musical elements from his Native heritage, have been performed by major orchestras like the Detroit Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Ballet, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

But during the fall of 2011, Tate began working with a non-professional ensemble closer to home—at Dickson Middle School in Dickson, Oklahoma. Tate had been commissioned by the American Composers Forum to write a new work for their ChoralQuest series for middle-school choirs. The resulting work, entitled Taloowa' Chipota, which in the Chickasaw language means “Children’s Songs,” was premiered on May 15, 2012, by the children at the Dickson School.

“The songs,” explained Tate, “are reminiscent of traditional stomp dancing and are based on old Chickasaw melodies. Stomp dances begin at dusk and end at dawn. The first movement depicts the beginning sunlight of the morning. The second is full of abstracted textures emulating the shell shaking in stomp dances.”

For his part, Tate says he’s pleased how it all turned out: “I was able to introduce a Chickasaw experience to a diverse group of students… I strengthened my own relationship with my Chickasaw community and demonstrated to the Chickasaws in the chorus how our culture can positively impact classical music.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Jerod Tate (b. 1968) Taloowa' Chipota (Children's Songs) Minnesota Boy Choir Hal Leonard 00119300 (sheet music)

On This Day

Births

• 1567 - Baptismal date of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, in Cremona;

• 1808 - Irish composer Michael William Balfe, in Dublin;

• 1908 - Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson, in Akarp (near Lund);

• 1941 - American composer and pianist Richard Wilson, in Cleveland;

Premieres

• 1913 - Debussy: ballet "Jeux" (Games), at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées by the Ballet Russe, Pierre Monteux conducting;

• 1920 - Stravinsky: ballet "Pulcinella," by Ballet Russe; at the Paris Opéra, with Ernest Ansermet conducting;

• 1939 - Douglas Moore: opera "The Devil and Daniel Webster," in New York City;

• 1949 - Hindemith: Concerto for Winds, Harp and Orchestra, in New York;

• 1949 - Randall Thompson: Symphony No. 3, Columbia University, in New York, Thor Johnson conducting;

• 1958 - Cage: Piano Concerto, in New York City;

• 1960 - Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7, in Leningrad, by the Beethoven Quartet;

• 1972 - Rochberg: String Quartet No. 3, at Tully Hall in New York City, by the Concord Quartet;

• 1992 - Stephen Paulus: "Air on Seurat (The Grand Canal)", for cello and piano, at the National Cello Competition at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Ariz.;

• 1993 - Steve Reich: opera "The Cave," in Vienna at the Wiener Festspielhaus;

Others

• 1750 - First documented report of an audience standing during the "Hallelujah" chorus of Handel's "Messiah"; On May 1 and 15 in 1750, "Messiah" had been performed as a benefit for the Foundling Hospital charity (Gregorian dates: May 12 and 26, respectively).