"Black Hills Olowan" rides again!

In 2009, I wrote a composition for the Porcupine Singers and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO), called Black Hills Olowan ('Olowan' means /song/ in Lakota). This particular composition has had good staying power, with repeat performances by several orchestras, such as Mankato Symphony Orchestra in MN, and Grand Rapids Symphony in MI.

Well it's exciting news that the 15-minute work Black Hills Olowan is being performed again by the originating orchestra, South Dakota Symphony! If you are in the Sioux Falls SD area—or anywhere nearby—I invite you to go hear this engrossing work! The how-to-attend information is on the SDSO website, HERE.

Here is a description of the work Black Hills Olowan:

Black Hills Olowan is a concert work that honors the Black Hills of South Dakota and features the Porcupine Singers. In Black Hills Olowan, the singers are integrated with the symphonic instruments, almost as if they are another instrumental section of the orchestra. However, the concluding moments of the work feature the singers as a leading voice, driving the symphony along to its rousing conclusion. Black Hills Olowan was commissioned by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra for a Native American tour with support of the American Composers Forum and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Black Hills of western South Dakota and Eastern Wyoming known to the Lakota as Paha Sapa (Black Hills) and He Sapa (Black Mountains) hold a revered place in the history and culture especially of the Lakota and Cheyenne nations, but also for others such as the Mandan, Arikara, and Kiowa. For the Lakota, sacred oral tradition has preserved the significance of the Black Hills as "the heart of everything that is" (R. D. Theisz).

One added note regarding orchestral concert advertising—It is perhaps an unfortunate hiccup to not list the individual programmed works on the SDSO website, limiting the announcement to Dvorak's beloved Symphony no. 9, "From the New World." Dvorak doesn't need the shout out, but American Indian composers of new music absolutely do need it, speaking both as a professional composer and as part of a living culture that is routinely rendered invisible by the mainstream. Despite the website slight (hey that rhymed), the music is wonderful, and the upcoming performances on March 5th and 6th—featuring the Creekside Singers—will be absolutely amazing!

My deepest thank you to conductor Delta David Gier and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and to Lakota singer Dr. Ronnie Theisz and the exceptional Creekside Singers.

​Go see this stirring CONCERT if you can!