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Chickasaw Chamber Music Festival reception

American Indian classical music event is first of its kind

The Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts and Humanities brought American Indian classical music to the forefront of American Indian fine arts in its second annual Chickasaw Chamber Music Festival on June 1-3, 2012, in Ada, Oklahoma. This premiere chamber music celebration combined the diverse talents of Chickasaw classical composer and conductor, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, NAMMY winner Yaqui guitarist, Gabriel Ayala, Yale-trained SŌ Percussion and the Southwest's leading professional modern chamber music ensemble, Voices of Change.

For three exciting days, the festival hosted nightly concerts and a Sunday matinee concert at the historic McSwain Theatre in downtown Ada. SŌ Percussion's dynamicl performance 'wowed' attendees the first evening. Classical guitarist Gabriela Ayala struck a chord of his own at the Saturday night concert with classical renditions of well-known favorites and personal anecdotes about the music and his career.

Performance featured American Indian classical composers

Sunday's matinee performance at the McSwain Theatre featured musical artists Voices of Change, performing music composed by David Yeagley (Comanche), George Quincy (Choctaw), Jerod Tate (Chickasaw), Trevor Reed (Hopi) and Raven Chacon (Diné).

Music enthusiasts will want to check this site regularly and make plans for the Chickasaw Chamber Music Festival coming Summer 2013. For updates, please contact us to add your name to the CCMF email list.

Sign Up for Master Classes

Master Classes 2013

In addition to public performances during the festival, daily master classes designed for young musicians and composers will be offered to a limited number of students.

Students will learn from renowned professionals and recording artists. Master classes serve to critique and encourage student participants in a performance setting and are open to the public in the McSwain Theatre for those who wish to observe. Master class applications for 2013 will be made available on this site at a later date.

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Latest News

May 7, 2012

The Chickasaw Chamber Music Festival, set June 1-3, will showcase performances and workshops from many top musicians from all over the country.

Set at the historic McSwain Theatre, Ada, Okla., the Festival will include a daily concert from top American Indian composers and classical music performers and feature workshops taught by the performers.

With a mission to celebrate Native American composers and performers, the Festival will feature a Master class with SŌ Percussion from 1-4 p.m.

Participating Artists

SŌ Percussion SO Percussion

SŌ Percussion has been creating music that explores all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility. Excitement about composers - as well as the sheer fun of playing together - inspired the members of SŌ to begin performing together while students at the Yale School of Music.

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About the Artwork

Kullihoma Lights CCMF Artwork

Each year the chamber music festival committee commissions one Chickasaw artist to create artwork to commemorate the annual event. Chickasaw award-winning artist and humanitarian Brenda Kingery from San Antonio, Texas, created the artwork for the 2012 festival ...