R. Carlos Nakai is guest artist for tradition-blending Glacier Symphony concert

A pairing of musical traditions marks the next Glacier Symphony and Chorale concerts on Saturday, March 15, 7:30 p.m., at Whitefish Performing Arts Center, and Sunday, March 16, at 3 p.m. at Flathead High Performance Hall in Kalispell.  

The “Canyon Reverie – Ancient Spring” concert features a selection of works for small orchestra from the extensive repertoire of Native American cedar-flutist R. Carlos Nakai. Nakai is a renowned master musician and is the recipient of many awards and distinguished honors.

Complementing Nakai’s evocative and spiritual music will be music from the French and American tradition by Debussy, Ravel and Massenet, as well as Glacier Symphony musician Janet Haarvig and Glacier Symphony and Chorale music director John Zoltek.

“This blending of French, American and Native American orchestra music with master musician R. Carlos Nakai will be a treat for our audiences. The theme refers to eternal spring and the ancient musical traditions that serves a fountain to our collective cultures. A perfect way to launch the spring equinox,” Zoltek said. 

The French pieces include the well known “Pavane pour enfant defunte” by Maurice Ravel; an excerpt from Jules Massenet’s beautiful opera “Meditation for Thais” and will feature concert master Sally Jerde in the violin solo; and “Petite Suite” a rarely heard work early work by Claude Debussy.

Two American pieces are “Dance of the Great Bear” a recent composition for string orchestra by Montana-based cellist Haarvig and “Celestial Lullaby Suite” an orchestral suite of four movements based on lullaby themes by Zoltek.

Zoltek says selecting which of Nakai’s works to play for this concert was difficult as he performs many works for string or chamber orchestra.

“Our set will feature six pieces that all have unusual settings and will allow R. Carlos to display his virtuosity and inspiring soulful music.” among them are “Canyon Reverie,” “Shaman’s Dream” “Little Dog,” “Whippoorwill” and others.

Nakai is a Native American of Navajo-Ute heritage. He began his musical career studying brass instruments at Northern Arizona University. As a sophomore he was in an auto accident that damaged his mouth. Auspiciously he was presented with the gift of a traditional Native American cedar flute and was challenged to master it. He says most of his inspiration comes from the expressions of native communities and his desire to preserve his own Native American heritage.

“Every culture in the world has flute music. The flute speaks to an ancient, almost forgotten part of us…” he writes in his biography.

He likes to blend his native music with that of other cultures helping to preserve their heritage and has collaborated with a Japanese folk ensemble, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David and many others including American composer Philip Glass, and flutist, Paul Horn, and Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog. His storied career includes the Arizona Governors Award in 1992 and induction into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2005. He holds a masters in American Indian Studies from Arizona University and an honorary doctorate from NASU. He co-authored a book “The Art of Native American Flute” with composer James DeMars.

Tickets for youth through grade 12 are free for this Masterworks concert. Adult tickets can be purchased on the GSC website; www.gscmusic.org or by calling 407-7000 or at the box office located at 69 N. Main St. Kalispell.   

 R.Carlos Nakai featured guest at Symphony Soloist Spotlight

On Thursday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. , the Symphony Soloist Spotlight series will feature R. Carlos Nakai in a solo performance of Native American cedar flute. Doors open at 7 p.m. for socializing over a glass of wine or beer at the Alpine Ballroom, 333 Main St., Kalispell. R. Carlos Nakai has invited his longtime friend, cellist Lee Zimmerman, now a resident of Whitefish, to join him in some of the evening’s repertoire. Tickets for the event are $15. Call the GSC to purchase in advance or visit the website, www.gscmusic.org to buy online.