“Tate’s connection to nature and the human experience was quite apparent…
rarer still is his ability to effectively infuse classical music with American Indian nationalism.”
 – The Washington Post

“All of these were dispatched with the requisite fireworks by Irina Muresanu,
whose combination of fire and poise made the performance irresistible.”
 – The Boston Globe

Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, is composing Hattak Heloha, his violin first concerto, for internationally renowned Romanian violinist Irina Muresanu. This composition marks the first known violin concerto written by an American Indian citizen.Tate describes the genesis of the three-movement work:

“Hattak Heloha is a new violin concerto composed for violinist Irina Muresanu and is based upon the Chickasaw legend of the Thunder Beings. It is the ancient Chickasaw belief that our spirits make a new home in the clouds, after this life, where they become Thunder Beings. Whenever there are thunderstorms, it is a time that the good spirits and bad spirits are at battle. Chickasaw warriors would shoot their arrows and fire their guns into the clouds to help the good spirits win.

“This concerto is a remembrance of the old Chickasaw ways and is divided into three movements and features three ancient Chickasaw melodies. The violin soloist is an active storyteller, leading us through a rhapsodic expression of different aspects of Chickasaw life.

 “All of the songs featured in this concerto are melodies I sing to my six-year-old son, Heloha (hee-low-hah), at bedtime. He will recognize them when he hears this concerto and this work is dedicated to him.”

 Hattak Heloha is the second collaboration between Tate and Muresanu. Irina Muresanu commissioned, recorded and performed Tate’s Oshta (Four) on “Four Strings Around the World,” her acclaimed multimedia program celebrating global cultures through the unifying voice of the violin. Written specifically for her, Hattak Heloha is a new adventure following the connection made with Oshta.

 Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate - Hattak Heloha

I. Iyaakni’ (Homeland) (Drum Dance) 8 min.

A movement is full of vibrant and nostalgic feelings of playful, undisturbed and innocent times. These are my colorful impressions of simply enjoying our relations and good times with family and community.

II. Nokfónkhat Intaloowa' (Memorial Song) 11 min.

The memorial song is commonly sung when a loved one dies and this movement is in honor of our ancestors who transition into Thunder Beings.

III. Shawi’ Hilha’ (Racoon Dance) 9 min.

A fast and furious dance representing my own family raccoon clan and is meant to celebrate the victorious battle between the spirits, ensuring many happy and safe days to come for Chickasaw people.

Consortium Orchestras

Hattak Heloha will be available to orchestras for performance with Muresanu as featured violin soloist beginning with the 2025-2026 season.  Recording rights are an option with the Grammy Award-winning label Azica Records. Interested parties can also benefit from masterclasses, workshops, and pre-concert lectures, offered by the composer and performer.

About Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a classical composer, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, and is dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition. The Washington Post raves that “Tate is rare as an American Indian composer of classical music. Rarer still is his ability to effectively infuse classical music with American Indian nationalism.”

Tate is a 2022 Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee, a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from The Cleveland Institute of Music and was appointed 2021 Cultural Ambassador for the U. S. Department of State. He is Guest Composer, conductor, and pianist for San Francisco Symphony’s Currents Program, and was recently Guest Composer for Metropolitan Museum of Art’s program, Home with ETHEL and Friends. Tate is a governor-appointed Creativity Ambassador for the State of Oklahoma and an Emmy Award-winner for his work on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority documentary, The Science of Composing.

His commissioned works have been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Canterbury Voices, Dale Warland Singers, Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. His music was recently featured on the HBO series Westworld.

Tate has held Composer-in-Residence positions with the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA, the Joyce Foundation/American Composers Forum, and Grand Canyon Music Festival Native American Composer Apprentice Project, among others. Tate was the founding composition instructor for the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy. In addition to his work based upon his Chickasaw culture, Tate has worked with the music and language of multiple tribes, such as: Choctaw, Navajo, Cherokee, Ojibway, Creek, Pechanga, Comanche, Lakota, Hopi, Tlingit, Lenape, Tongva, Shawnee, Caddo, Ute, Aleut, Shoshone, Cree, Paiute, and Salish/Kootenai.

Among available recorded works are Iholba‘ (The Vision) and Tracing Mississippi, recorded by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and his Lowak Shoppala' (Fire and Light), recorded by Nashville String Machine with the Chickasaw Nation Children’s Chorus and Dance Troupe alongside vocal soloists and narrators, both out on Azica Records. His Metropolitan Museum of Art commission, Pisachi (Reveal), is featured on ETHEL’s album Documerica. Azica recently released Tate’s inaugural composition, Winter Moons, and his Moonstrike, recorded by Apollo Chamber Players.

Tate earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University and his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music. He has performed as First Keyboard on the Broadway national tours of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon and been a guest pianist and accompanist for the Colorado Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and numerous ballet and dance companies.

Tate’s middle name, Impichchaachaaha', means “his high corncrib” and is his inherited traditional Chickasaw house name. Learn more at www.jerodtate.com.

Interested Parties, Please Contact

Irina Muresanu: muresanu@umd.edu

Jerod Tate: jerodtate@mac.com

Photo Credits:

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate by Shevaun Williams