At the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Music Director Delta David Gier and Dakota/Cedar flutist Bryan Akipa work on the Lakota Music Project.
In Tuesday’s (6/3) New York Times, Zachary Woolfe writes, “Nine members of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and their conductor, Delta David Gier, were working on a piece with the Dakota flutist Bryan Akipa [at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]…. Emmanuel Black Bear—the keeper of the drum, or leader, of the Creekside Singers, a traditional Lakota drum and vocal ensemble—was huddling with the composer Derek Bermel … Bermel had transcribed some Creekside recordings, arranging a part for the symphony players to join with the Native musicians…. Since the artists involved were part of the orchestra’s longstanding Lakota Music Project, the goal was far greater than just getting ready for a concert: This collaboration between Native American and Western classical artists aimed to address a whole history of racial tension. ‘Racism and prejudice, how do we counteract that?’ Black Bear said in an interview. ‘I’ve always said it’s through music….’ Classical institutions like to talk a big game about making social justice a part of their mission, but the South Dakota Symphony and the Lakota Music Project—which commissions works for combinations of Native and non-Native musicians and tours the state—have committed more deeply than most…. The collaboration has persisted for nearly 20 years.”
Read Symphony’s 2024 article about this and similar projects by orchestras and Native musical artists at https://symphony.org/features/indigenous-composers-in-the-spotlight/.
