Meaning "reveal" in the Chickasaw Native American language, Pisachi draws inspiration from Hopi and Pueblo Native American music, rhythms, and form, referring specifically to the Pueblo Buffalo Dance, Hopi Buffalo Dance, and Hopi Elk Dance. Composed by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, the piece was initially written for a slide show exhibit for string quartet ETHEL’s touring project entitled Documerica. The piece accompanied images of the desert environment of the American Indian Southwest.
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate was born in Norman, Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. He earned his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Elizabeth Pastor and Dr. Donald Erb.
Among his many accolades and accomplishments, he has received numerous commissions, and his works have been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, to name a few. In 2008, he was appointed Cultural Ambassador for the State of Oklahoma.
In pop culture, his music featured on the HBO series Westworld, with parts of two of his original compositions, “Shakamaxon” and “Oktibihah”, included as underscoring for the episode titled “Kiksuya (Remember)”.
He was the founding composition instructor for the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy and has taught composition to American Indian high school students in Minneapolis, the Hopi, Navajo, and Lummi reservations and Native students in Toronto. His work is not limited to his Chickasaw culture, and Tate has worked with the music and language of multiple tribes, including, but not limited to: Choctaw, Navajo, Cherokee, Cree, Creek, Pechanga, Comanche, Lakota, Hopi, and Shoshone.
Learn more about Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate:
Text by: Ambrose Cheung/Licha Stelaus Productions
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