Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
the People's Voice
NOWHERE IN INDIAN COUNTRY WILL YOU FIND
A MORE GIFTED AND VERSATILE COMPOSER!Hear what the Critics are saying about this unusually accomplished composer...!
"... a whippoorwill score..."
Sid Smith - Chicago Tribune"... thought-provoking mystery, steeped in tradition"
Daniel Buckley - Tucson Citizen"He's written two marvelous pieces for us, I mean, there's nobody else in the world that could write music like that."
David Harrington - Kronos Quartet"... a fresh, lilting score"
Lynn Voedisch - Chicago Sun Times"... unmatched texture and resonance"
Betty Webb - Phoenix Tribune
BRENT MICHAEL DAVIDS, whose Mohican name is Blue Butterfly, is a young composer who moves between the worlds of the Joffrey Ballet, Kronos Quartet, National Symphony and Native American Song. Davids is a member of the Mohican Nation and a Classically-Trained Composer. Featured on CBS "Sunday Morning" with Charles Osgood and Eugenia Zukerman, Davids plays the Quartz Crystal Flute. He has two such flutes: one Soprano and Bass flute, both hand-blown from quartz crystal. Davids has even composed for Film, as one of only six composers invited to Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. At Sundance, Davids composed music for two scenes from Sherman Alexie's next film "Indian Killer" and Davids received shouting applause for his music soundtrack!
July 22
Tanglewood Presents...
CHANTICLEER! and
Davids "Mohican Soup!"
Seji Ozawa Hall
Info: (800) 950-1177
http://www.chanticleer.orgNever before has a "Stockbridge" Mohican achieved professional notoriety at the esteemed Tanglewood Music Festival, but it looks like Composer Brent Michael Davids will become the first! Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has invited Composer Brent Michael Davids to the Tanglewood premiere of Davids' "Mohican Soup." One of the world-renown choral groups from America, Chanticleer, will be performing Davids "Mohican Soup" as part of the All-American program at Tanglewood. Davids is pleased that Chanticleer will be performing "Mohican Soup" at Tanglewood, because Tanglewood is built in the heart of Davids' ancestral grounds, and it will be one of the few times when music sung in the Mohican language will be presented there in hundreds of years. Before departing from the Berkshires, the "Stockbridge" Band of Mohicans assumed the same name as the ambitious town that eventually established itself overtop the original Mohican village -- the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
August 13
Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors
Presents ... "Crystal Winds,
Bamboo Breezes" Featuring
Brent Michael Davids
North Plaza, 6:30 PM
Info: (212) 875-5108.Have you ever heard a flute made from Quartz Crystal? Ever meet a Mohican Composer? On a beautiful summer evening in August, you might get your chance to do both! This is Davids second appearance at LINCOLN CENTER OUT-OF-DOORS first appearing there as composer and performer for the Maida Withers Dance Construction Company a few years ago. To hear the haunting sound of his Quartz Crystal Flute and meet the award- winning composer, we invite you to an evening of highly-crafted music by Brent Michael Davids. Davids has invited long-time friend and guitarist Joe Myers to perform with him at Lincoln Center.
August 14-15
Brent Michael Davids performs
at the National Museum of the
American Indian, New York.
Info: (212) 514-3713.With his crystal flutes on hand, Davids will explain, demonstrate and perform for general audiences at the famous Museum in lower New York City. This will be Davids first appearance at the NMAI, later to appear with "Joe & the Blue Butterfly" in the Museum's rotunda as part of the Panasonic Village Jazz Festival on August 26.
August 21
Brent Michael Davids & Joe Myers are
"Joe & the Blue Butterfly," at the
"Native Roots and Rhythms" Festival.
Paolo Soleri Theater, Santa Fe, NM.
Info: (505) 989-8898.August 26
Brent Michael Davids & Joe Myers
are "Joe & the Blue Butterfly,"
at the Panasonic Village Jazz Festival, NY.
Info: (212) 989-2295.Joe & The Blue Butterfly features the haunting sounds of Brent Michael Davids' quartz crystal flute and the curio altered-tuning guitar style of Joe Myers. Davids and Myers have been performing and recording together for over a decade, and it shows. Both are master artists in their own right, and they seemlessly blend their dexterity together into songs that enrich the soul. You'll not find the echo-laden musings of collage-like sound effects, soupy reverb, and instrumental noodlings here, Joe & the Blue Butterfly is a highly crafted collection of songs constructed by an award-winning composer and a virtuosic guitarist. Davids, whose Mohican name is Blue Butterfly, is mesmerizing with his sometimes-percussive and breathy crystal flute sounds, while the technical acuity and vitality of Myers expertise help make the Butterfly duo so distinct. Davids & Myers perform the themes from the Paramount film "Silent Enemy," as well as the popular radio talk show "Native America Calling."
December 10-11, 1999
Brent Michael Davids & The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra
The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Presents...
"New World / New Mexico / New Century"
Brent Michael Davids performs in the
World Premiere of his Symphony No.1
"PAUWAU: A GATHERING OF NATIONS (FOR MC AND ORCHESTRA)"
* David Lockington, Conductor
* New Mexico Symphony Chorus
* Brent Michael Davids, Crystal Flute
* Sammy Tone-Kei White, Emcee
Popejoy Hall, University of New Mexico
Dec 10 at 8:00 PM . Dec 11 at 6:00 PM
Info: (505) 881-8999 or 1-800-251-NMSO statewide.
Tickets: 1-800-905-3315 or http://www.protix.com.Never Before Have You Experienced Something Like This! Brent Michael Davids first major symphony, No.1, PauWau: A Gathering of Nations is subtitled "a day in the life of a powwow." Just as one hears the emcee at a powwow, his voice is heard throughout the symphonic work as well -- to direct, explain, announce and entertain. In this case, the emcee mimics a powwow and also helps explain the orchestral music itself. The orchestra performs movements and sections that portray the typical events of a powwow day in 15 movements, including: Welcome, Sunset, Gourd Dance, Grand Entry, Flag Song, Veteran Song, MC Interlude One, Inter-Tribal, Tiny Tots Dance, MC Interlude Two, Song Cycle, Final Contest Song, Honor Song, Prayer Song, and Grand Exit. Davids hopes PauWau will introduce orchestral music to Native American audiences in a familiar way and bring an understanding of the powwow to audiences already familiar with the orchestral repertoire. Written by a Mohican (Algonquin) composer, PauWau is a powerful and enriching mix of both the orchestral tradition and Native American life. A native of Great Britain and Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, David Lockington has already endeared himself to musicians and audiences alike with his unerring musicality and engaging personality. Maestro Lockington will conduct the accomplished New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in this exciting World Premiere. This, NMSO's last concert of the millennium, will also feature Dvorak's love letter to the New World, his Symphony No. 9. Don't miss this Once-In-A- Lifetime Event!!
Contact: Brent Michael Davids Blue Butterfly Group
3049 10th AVE-S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Telephone: 612/729-8421
FAX: 612/729-8806
E-mail: BrentMD@aol.comRelated URL:
Indian Actors Are Not Enough
"Indigenous Composers Empower Native Films"
By Brent Michael Davids ~ Mohican Composer/Performer
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