Continued (page 2 of 3)
The Ambassador
For Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ (Chickasaw for “his high corncrib”) Tate, performing is also part of his DNA. The son of a classically trained Chickasaw baritone and pianist and an Irish dancer and choreographer, Jerod was born and raised in Oklahoma, where he still resides. (His father, Charles Guy Tate, is also the author of the current Chickasaw constitution.) Jerod says he grew up saturated in theater, dance and opera. He earned his bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Northwestern University and his master’s degree in piano performance and composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Jerod has been a full-time musician since he graduated college. He has released one album with Azica Records and even worked as a pianist on Broadway for a stint. In 1992, when he was 23, his mom commissioned him to write a movement for a ballet she was choreographing in Wyoming. That was when he wrote Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls, which will be the final piece performed at Nakai in Concert in Sedona. The sinfonietta will also perform Spider Brings Fire, which tells the legend of how the Chickasaw people received fire (the harp plays the role of Spider).
“It’s sort of the Chickasaw version of Peter and the Wolf,” says Jerod. “I have to re-orchestrate it for the [Verde Valley Sinfonietta] because it was originally written for a 100-piece orchestra.”
The two concerts this month will be Jerod’s first time performing in Sedona, though he has performed with his friend R. Carlos on several occasions. He says his mission in life is to “bring American Indian culture to the classic stage – to bring different tribes and languages to the stage.”
In addition to his performances, Jerod will be meeting with local schoolchildren in what amounts to the final component of Nakai in Concert, which is educational outreach. The week prior to the concerts, Jerod will be busy singing and demonstrating his language at West Sedona School, Sedona Red Rock High School and Sedona Charter School. He will also lead a residency program in Camp Verde for students from Yavapai-Apache Nation and Hopi High School. (Students participating in the program will attend the Nov. 18 concert.) Jerod says he will talk to the students about the trials and tribulations of being a professional musician. This sort of program is nothing new for Jerod, who was appointed Creativity Ambassador of the State of Oklahoma in 2008. “Fine art is one of the most integral things about the human experience,” says Jerod. “Fine art asks the individual to bring their personal identity to the craft. It’s nondiscriminatory and timeless.”
