On January 13th, 2025, PostClassical Ensemble will host our annual Amazing Grace concert, which asks a living composer to curate a concert of music they connect with deeply, as well as sharing their own work. This year we are honored to have Citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate as our guest curator. As a special tribute, PCE will present Mr. Impichchaachaaha’ Tate with PCE’s American Roots Artist Award for outstanding contributions to American music.
Tate is a dedicated American Indian classical composer and pianist who expresses his native culture in symphonic music, ballet and opera. All of his compositions have been commissioned by major North American orchestras, ensembles and organizations and his works are performed throughout the world. We recently caught up with him to chat about his long love of classical music, the importance of his cultural heritage, and what he's up to next.
PCE: First of all, tell us a little about yourself. How old were you when you first found classical music, what about it spoke to you and who are some of your favorite composers?
Tate: I am a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. My father, Charles, is Chickasaw and a tribal lawyer, judge and retired Special District Judge. He is also a phenomenal classically trained pianist and bass-baritone. At age 8, my father started me on the piano and by age 9 I announced to my family that I was to be a concert pianist. My mother, Patricia, was Manx and a professional choreographer and dancer. Between my two parents, I was saturated in American Indian history and culture, alongside ballet and opera and American modern theatre. When I was 23, Mom created a new ballet, Winter Moons, based upon American Indian stories from the Northern Plains and Rockies. After consulting her Native colleagues and constructing the ballet, asked me to compose the score. Mom provided my first artistic opportunity to express all of who I am at the same time. After the ballet premiere, I added composition to my piano performance degree and announced that I would focus exclusively on developing American Indian classical composition - that I was to be a Chickasaw Classical Composer.
PCE: For the Amazing Grace concert you were assigned with the task of curating an evening of music that speaks deeply to you. Can you share a bit about the process - why you chose the works you did and how you went about arranging the concert in general?
Tate: Honestly, the process was very natural and easy. With this type of opportunity, I feel like a kid in a candy shop and I am privileged to creatively brainstorm and allow my impulses to guide all of us.
PCE: Are there any works that you wish you could have included but were not able to given time constraints or because they didn't quite fit into the overall arrangement of the music?
Tate: I would have included more symphonic and vocal works by Louis Ballard (Quapaw/Cherokee), David Yeagley (Comanche), Ian Cusson (Métis) and Charles Shadle (Choctaw). It is my hope that this concert might open up an opportunity to do so in the future.
PCE: There is obviously a rich tradition of Native American classical music composers. As a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, do you see your cultural heritage as influencing your music, and if so, in what ways?
Tate: My cultural heritage affects my composition in many ways: melodically, rhythmically, with musical phrasing, and in my orchestrations. We are originally from the rich woodlands of the American Southeast, which carry a powerful and elemental ethos. Every moment I compose, my spirit is walking through the ancient woods of my ancestors and I feel compelled to express their epic legacy through fine art.
PCE: That is very beautiful. I am also curious if you prefer that your music be associated directly within the canon of Native American classical composers or if you feel that is limiting in some way and that your work be taken on its own terms?
Tate: I feel both. Much like the historic Russian composers, I am deeply tied to my ethnicity and cultural heritage. Like them, I intent-fully express my identity with great passion and equally connect with the world on a cosmopolitan level - allowing all people to listen on their own terms. I compose with the intention of my works becoming repertoire, performed by all people in the future.
PCE: PCE audiences will no doubt want to continue to follow your career after the Amazing Grace concert. What are you up to next? Where can folks follow you and stay up to date on your future comings-and-goings?
Tate: On October 27, 2024, I am premiering my opera, Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), sung entirely in the Chickasaw language. On April 19, 2025, I am premiering my American Indian Symphony, with Native opera soloists singing in six different Native languages. On April 1, 2025, my work Iholba' (The Vision), for chorus and orchestra, performs at Carnegie hall, also sung entirely in the Chickasaw language.
To familiarize yourself with more of Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate's music, check him out on Spotify!
