>> MARY: THIS SUNDAY, A CONCERT AT MINNEAPOLIS' MACPHAIL CENTER FOR MUSIC WILL HIGHLIGHT THE WORKS OF THREE NATIVE AMERICAN CLASSICAL COMPOSERS.

THE CONCERT, CALLED "NATIVE SPIRITS SING," IS THE BRAINCHILD OF MACPHAIL FACULTY MEMBER AND PIANIST PINAR BASGOZE.

AND JOINING US REMOTELY IS JEROD TATE, ONE OF THE THREE COMPOSERS FEATURED IN THE CONCERT.

WELCOME TO YOU BOTH.

FIRST OF ALL, JUST EXPLAIN THIS.

THIS IS YOUR BABY.

WHAT IS IT?

[ Laughter ] >> GROWING UP IN A CROSS-CULTURAL MUSICAL ENVIRONMENT, MYSELF, I'VE ALWAYS GOTTEN EXPOSED TO TURKISH FOLK MUSIC, CLASSICAL TURKISH ART MUSIC, BLENDED WITH WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC.

THAT WAS MY ENVIRONMENT.

AND THEN ONCE I MOVED TO MINNESOTA, I WAS URIOUS ABOUT THE MUSICAL CULTURE OF THE PLACE I IMMIGRATED TO, I CALL HOME.

AND I HAVE A PIANO DUO.

I'M THE COFOUNDER OF A MEAN YEAR DUO WITH PORTUGUESE AMERICAN PIANIST.

WE ARE THE I RECIPIENT OF THE MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD GRANTED AND FOR THAT GRANT, WE COMPOSED COMMISSIONING THREE DIFFERENT COMPOSERS FROM THREE DIFFERENT CULTURES, TURKEY, PORT GAL, AND MINNESOTA.

RESPECTIVELY.

TO WRITE A PIECE FOR PIANO ENSEMBLE AND A NARRATOR.

AFTER PURR YOU ARE SUING THAT, WE WANTED TO EXPAND THAT REPERTOIRE WITH NATIVE COMPOSERS.

>> Eric: OKAY.

ER YOD, ARE YOU THERE?

>> I'M RIGHT HERE.

>> OH, GREAT.

ARE THERE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIVE COMPOSERS TO KIND OF THE TRADITIONAL EUROPEAN COMPOSERS OR IS IT SO INDIVIDUAL YOU CAN'T REALLY MAKE THAT KIND OF COMPARISON?

>> OH, I MEAN, IT'S VERY, VERY INDIVIDUAL.

AND BY THE WAY -- [ SPEAKING NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE ] IT'S JUST LIKE ANY HISTORIC COMPOSER THAT COMES FROM ETHNICITIES.

IF OU LOOK AT THE RUSSIANS AND, ALL OF THEM WERE VERY, VERY STEEPED IN THEIR RUSSIAN IDENTITY.

BUT THEY ALL SOUNDED VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.

AND DARE I SAY, THEY WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT IN THE SAME ROOM WITH EACH OTHER.

SO -- BUT YOU'RE JUST GOING TO FIND ALL KINDS OF DIVERSE TREATMENTS OF ETHNICITY JUST LIKE YOU DO IN THE VISUAL ARTS.

I MEAN, WE'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF AMERICAN INDIAN VISUAL ARTS THAT PEOPLE PLY OUT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO COME TO THE SANTA FE INTEREVERYONE MARKET TO FIND OUT WHAT'S NEW AND EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT AND EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENT UNIQUE VOICE, VERY, VERY SIMILAR IN ALL THE OTHER GENRES OF THE FINE ARTS.

>> Mary: TALK TO US MORE ABOUT MINNESOTA AND OUR RICH AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES THAT ARE HERE.

>> WELL, I MEAN, YOU'VE GOTH LOTS OF O OJIBWE TAPE FOLKS UP THERE.

SO THERE'S LOTS OF BANDS OF NATIVE FOLKS UP IN MINNESOTA.

SO IT'S LIKE YOU'VE GOT 10,000 LAKES AND YOU'VE ALSO GOT ABOUT 10,000 ETHNICITIES AND BANDS OF INDIANS.

SO MINNESOTA CAN BE VERY, VERY PROUD OF THEIR NATIVE HISTORY AS WELL.

AND SO I THINK THEY SHOULD JUST FEEL AKIN TO IT AND JUST JUST FEEL WARM HAND SHAKES WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS.

>> Eric: THIS IS NATIVE COMPOSERS ON NATIVE LAND.

YOU'RE LOCATED IN THAT AREA RIGHT BY THE GUTHRIE.

>> YES, YES, DEFINITELY.

AND WE -- THE FIRST TIME IN MACPHAIL'S HISTORY, WE PREPARED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY EVENTS GOING ON, AND THEN THEY'RE MUSIC EVENTS.

AND THEN ALTHOUGH WE HAVE HUGE RESPECT FOR LL THE ELDERS OF DAKOTA AND ANISHINAABE AND OJIBWE, ALL THE OTHER NATIONS LOCATED HERE, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST TIME ACTUALLY WE'RE GOING TO, LIKE, OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BEFORE THE CONCERT.

AND, YEAH.

>> Mary: LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT THE WORK JEROD, IF WE CAN GO BACK TO YOU.

YOU'RE COMPOSING SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HEAR AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S DIFFERENT IN THE SHOW ITSELF.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT?

>> SURE, WELL, THE PIECE I BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM THE CELLIST SOLO WAS WRITTEN FOR A VIOLINIST AND HER TOUR WAS CALLED FOUR STRINGS AROUND THE WORLD BECAUSE YOU HAVE FOUR STRINGS ON THE INSTRUMENT.

SO I JUST CALLED THE PIECE FOUR.

BUT IT IS ACTUALLY BASED IN ONE OF OUR TRADITIONAL CHICKASAW HYMNS.

SO IT'S KIND OF A CENTERPIECE BUT THERE'S LOTS OF POETIC ABSTRACTION AROUND THAT AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE WORK.

>> Eric: AND DO YOU PLAN TO EXPAND THIS NOW?

YOU'VE GOT THREE COMPOSERS.

HOW MANY MORE ARE OUT THERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO GET THIS KIND OF EXPOSURE?

>> OH, THERE ARE SO MANY MORE NATIVE COMPOSERS THAT I DISCOVERED OR REDISCOVERED.

OF COURSE ONE OF THEM ASK THE BRILLIANT JEROD TATE.

BUT MY FIRST DISCOVERY STARTED WITH DR. LOU YES WAYNE BALLARD FROM TULSA, FROM NEW MEXICO.

AND THE DR. BALLARD IS CONSIDERED AS THE FATHER OF NATIVE AMERICAN COMPOSERS.

AS BEING THE -- BEING AS PURSUING A CAREER IN SYMPHONIC WRITING.

>> Eric: LET ME MAKE SURE WE, THIS IS JUNE9TH, SUNDAY.

PRE-CONCERT PROGRAM AT 6:00 P.M. CONCERT AT 6:30 AT MACPHAIL.

AND YOU CAN