Bronitsky and Associates Blog

Brent Michael Davids is America’s leading Native American composer.  You can learn more about him and his work at http://www.brentmichaeldavids.com/.  We first met in Minneapolis when I toured Sami playwright Harriet Nordlund to the US and arranged for Harriet and myself to meet him for coffee.  They had a very interesting exchange of ideas, and now both are participants in IndigeNOW!  Indigenous Opera From Three Continents and Three Countries.

Brent is staying at my home for a few days and it has been a wonderful experience to get to know him better and learn more about his work and his passion for composing.  Tonight we watched a 1920s film version of Last of the Mohicans, which he scored.  It was a very exciting experience to listen to the music, especially since Brent IS Mohican and they certainly haven’t disappeared!  Afterwards we talked til in my back yard about his music and my work.  What a treat!

The end of the old year, the start of the new year, both approaching fast! 2009 was quite a year. I initiated and produced an international Indigenous theater festival in London in May–ORIGINS™ (www.originsfestival.com), something I’ve been dreaming about since 1998. What an incredible experience! And I toured Sami playwright Harriet Nordlund from Sweden to the US and Apache playwright David Velarde from New Mexico to Sweden.

2010 promises to be even larger, bolder, and more exciting:

• touring Mariachi Imperial de America to Albania and Macedonia under the auspices of the US embassies there, and meeting with Albanians about coproducing an Albanian performing arts festival to bring the best Albanian performers to the world
• touring Sami rights pioneer Magne Ove Varsi from Norway to the US in April–including Hawaii! University of Minnesota is also one of the stops, so it will be interesting figuring out what to pack for tropical Hawaii and, shall I say, less than tropical Minneapolis
• speaking of cold weather, the Chinle Valley Singers have been invited to perform in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada in May, pending funding, and I’ll be accompanying them to speak to people there about creating a Nunavut performing arts event. I’ll definitely have to take a sweater!
• funding permitting, though, I’ll be able to warm up in June, going with the Chinle Valley Singers to the San Juan Fiesta in Lima, Peru, and meeting with Ashaninka and Yanesha performers and artists
• there may even be another tropical jaunt, with Mariachi Imperial de America in July to the Dominican Republic, as they’ve been invited to perform at a formal reception at the home of the US ambassador there
• maybe I’ll even produce an event in Santa Fe, as Bruce Bernstein, the director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), has invited me to produce a throatsinging concert in Santa Fe during Indian market with Lois Suluk and Maria Illungiayok from Nunavut and a throatsinger from Mongolia. I’ve toured Lois and Maria to Ireland and Mexico and enjoyed working with them–but I haven’t met them yet. This could be my big chance!

There will be more coming in the year ahead, but that should give some idea of what’s going on.

And now that I’ve turned 60 and been doing this for 15 years, I’ve been thinking about where I want to go next–not geographically, but professionally. But you’ll have to wait til my next blog entry!

The last day of the tour, and a great day it was.  Ulrike heads the Relgiion and Public Engagment Advisory Board and we met with them.  Thanks to Ulrike, I had already met one of the Board’s members, Jeanne Simonelli, at the Society for Applied Anthropology meetings in Santa Fe.  It was good to see her again and learn more about her work, while sharing some ideas for the Board.  And Harriet kept discussion firmly grounded in her Indigenous perspective.

Meeting with the Religion and Public Engagement Advisory Board–
Ulrike Wiethaus, Gordon Bronitsky, Harriet Nordlund,
Lynn Neal, Jeanne Simonelli

Then off to Professor Hoagland’s religion class for the last lecture of the tour, and away we went to Winston-Salem State University and Andre Minkins, professor of drama in the Department of English and Foreign Languages there.  Harriet met with students in a directing class and it was one of the most exciting moments of the tour, watching her work with a director and her actors, drawing the story from the actors themselves.  Really a great moment.

Harriet Nordlund speaking to Professor Hoagland’s class
in the Department of Religion, Wake Forest University
(above and below)

And we had the opportunity to visit the Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University, where Director Belinda Tate let us in to see a show of images that opens tomorrow.  A very striking exhibit—young people with American flags, using them in very diverse statements about being American.  If you’re in the area, by all means, go see it!

Ulrike Wiethaus and Belinda Tate, Director of Diggs Gallery,
Winston-Salem State University

At last, a farewell dinner at a local Mexican restaurant—Ulrike, her husband Duncan, Harriet and myself.  Much good food, pitchers of margaritas, lots of stories and laughter.  A perfect ending to a great tour!

Harriet Nordlund, Duncan, Gordon Bronitsky, Ulrike Wiethaus

Quite a diverse and enjoyable day here at Wake Forest University.  Harriet and I had a working lunch with Betsy Gatewood, the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts at the university.  I must confess, I’m not used to seeing the words Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts in the same sentence—it’s a very interesting institution which reaches out across many disciplines and departments.  The Institute is developing a pilot project in Nicaragua and there was considerable interest in learning from Harriet about how to work in a mutual and respectful relationship with Indigenous people.  I shared my concern that performing arts, traditional and contemporary, should be considered in economic development, along with visual arts.  A good and productive discussion.

 
Wake Forest University Campus

Afterwards, the schedule gave Harriet and myself time to explore the Reynolda House Museum of Art (http://www.reynoldahouse.org/index.php). The Reynolda House Museum of American Art displays a premier collection of American art ranging from the colonial period to the present.  Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the house originally occupied the center of a 1,067-acre estate. It opened to the public as an institution dedicated to the arts and education in 1965, and as an art museum in 1967.  Superb works of art shown in the setting of a wonderful and trend-setting home—very different from the often cold and formal settings for modern art at other institutions.

 On the way to the Reynolda House Museum

 
Harriet and Gordon outside the Museum

At the end of the afternoon, Harriet conducted “From Story to Play:  A Theater Workshop” for one of Ulrike Wiethaus’ classes.  I took advantage of the time to get some souvenirs and enjoy the lovely weather and the view from the terrace of one of the main buildings, overlooking the campus.  Clear blue skies, a slight cool breeze—a time to enjoy the moment and all that this tour has accomplished as it comes to an end tomorrow.

And in the evening, Ulrike treated us to a stunning performance by the Luna Negra Dance Theater.  Over the last ten years, Luna Negra has become a powerful and exciting source of contemporary Latino dance.  The final piece, Danzón, was accompanied live by the Turtle Island Quartet, renowned for their creation of bold new trends in chamber music for strings.  The cost of live performance for modern dance together with musicians is usually prohibitive so this was a special treat as dancers and musicians improvised together.  A wonderful evening!

Tomorrow is our final day on tour.  On Thursday, Harriet returns home to Sapmi, the country of the Sami people, and I head back to Albuquerque.  It’s been a great tour.

The weather here in Winston Salem continued to be cloudy but the tour continued to be interesting and productive.  In the morning, we met with Wake Forest University faculty who are creating an interdisciplinary center.  Harriet spoke about her experience developing local networks in her role as Director of the Cultural Department within the council of Jokkmokk, Sweden, the center for the native Sámi people of Lule valley.  The participants explored the relevance of this experience for the creation of ties between Wake Forest University and Indigenous peoples at the local, state and national levels.  There seems to be considerable interest in working together in the future.

Wake Forest University faculty Christy Buchanan
and Ann Wahl with Harriet Nordlund

This afternoon, Harriet participated in a conversation with Ulrike Wiethaus about “Storytelling and Remembrance:  A Conversation About Sami Oral Traditions and their Revitalization in Contemporary Sami Theater” for students and faculty.  Again, a very wideranging and interesting discussion!

Ulride Wiethaus and Harriet Nordlund at Wake Forest University

And finally, something a little different—I spoke about “Indigenous World Markets and the Arts:  Building Entrepreneurial Networks” to students in one of Ulrike Wiethaus’ classes.  It’s the first time I’ve been asked to speak on tour, and the first time in a long time I’ve spoken about my work.  The class is focused on entrepreneurship so I had a great time and I think the students learned a lot.—there certainly were some good questions and participation.

Gordon Bronitsky in the Wake Forest University Library
 

Harriet Nordlund and Ulrike Wiethaus in discussion
at the Wake Forest University library
 

Gordon Bronitsky speaking to students at Wake Forest University,
with Ulrike Wiethaus