Navajo Vocable for Piano No. 6 (2014)
Connor Chee (b. 1987)
arr. Tiffany Ng

Navajo Vocable for Piano No. 5 (2014)
Connor Chee (b. 1987)
arr. Tiffany Ng

Navajo pianist and composer Connor Chee is known for combining his classical piano training with his Native American heritage. Chee made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 12 after winning a gold medal in the World Piano Competition. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Chee’s solo piano music is inspired by traditional Navajo chants and songs.

Chee has released three studio albums of original pieces and piano transcriptions of Navajo music. The Navajo Piano won Best Instrumental Recording at the 16th Annual Native American Music Awards, and his piece “Beginnings” won Best New Age Song. Chee’s most recent release, Scenes from Dinétah, features piano pieces written about elements of Navajo life and culture. It has been accompanied by the release of several music videos filmed on the Navajo reservation, directed by Navajo filmmaker Michael Etcitty Jr. www.wildsaguarorecords.com

The lecture will take place in the Hussey Room in the Michigan League

Navajo and Dutch writer, speaker and activist, and 2020 U.S. presidential candidate, Mark Charles kicks off the symposium with the 24th De Vries-VanderKooy Memorial Lecture.
He is introduced by Zoi Crampton, co-chair of the Native American Student Association (NASA)

The son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, Mark Charles teaches the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and Christendom in order to help forge a path of healing and conciliation for the nation.