MoonStrike with Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate and Matthew Detrick — Raven Steals the Moon

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike.’ is the 19th commission of Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural initiative. The Azica Records album title track was written by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Joining us for this podcast is Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Apollo Chamber Players founder and violinist Matthew Detrick. We will discuss Part 4 III. Raven Steals the Moon (Haida) which features the Haida Play Song and War Song.

MoonStrike, is narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. Tate explains, “American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object.”

MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick’s love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space. Listen to the podcast.

On Friday, September 2, 2022, the Apollo Chamber Players, under the direction of founder and violinist Matthew J. Detrick, released MoonStrike the album, on Azica Records. In addition to Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s piece: MoonStrike, the universal celebration of storytelling, space, and folk song, is also realized through new works by Jennifer Higdon and Pierre Jalbert. Tate’s title work, MoonStrike, is narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. All three works were commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players as part of its 20x2020 project, launched in 2014 with a mission to commission 20 new multicultural works before the end of the last decade. The New York premiere of MoonStrike will take place on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s In the Shadow of the Mountain (2020) is inspired by her upbringing in the Great Smoky Mountains and incorporates the sounds and colors of the region. Higdon shares, “The resonance of that area led me to choose, for my first opera, Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain. The struggles of survival in Appalachia, the majesty of its natural features, and the sonorities of the mountain’s music, color the quilt of that opera and of this string quartet.”

Next is the title work, MoonStrike (2019), by Chickasaw composer and U.S. Cultural Ambassador, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The work honors the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing through American Indian moon legends as narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington. Tate explains, “American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object.” MoonStrike features three diverse American Indian legends, and is bookended with an arrangement of a Calusa Corn Dance. MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick’s love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space.

Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert’s L’esprit du Nord “Spirit of the North” (2019) is a three movement work that fuses three French-Canadian folk songs with his unique, contemporary musical language. The first movement, “Chanson de Lisette,” is a playful theme and variations, while the second movement, “Cantique (Canticle),” contains two religious folk tunes: a Passion and a tune entitled “Les Pélerins.” The third and final movement, “Fiddle Dance,” was inspired by French-Canadian fiddling traditions.

Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.