Nakoda
solo amplified alto flute
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Recording: Erin Lesser, alto flute (studio recording at the Banff Centre for the Arts by Jonathan Ives, December 2002)
Duration: ca. 4′
Composed: 2002
Nakoda is named for the alpha female of the Peter Lougheed wolf pack, who was killed—legally—by a hunter in Kananaskis country (near Banff, Alberta, Canada) on September 22, 2000. While wolves and other large predators essential to the ecological balance of the region are protected within the boundaries of Banff National Park (as well as other nearby protected areas), it is sadly still legal to hunt them outside of Park boundaries. Nakoda, herself named for the Nakoda First Nations tribe of the Bow Valley (among many other areas), was first collared in 1996 with a transceiver that allowed wildlife ecologists to obtain valuable data on the pack’s wide-ranging movements over the course of the year. This kind of data can be used to help create laws that protect wolves and preserve critical habitat. Nakoda is dedicated to the conservation of large predators everywhere — in particular the wolves of the Canadian and American Rockies.
Composed while in residence at Canada’s Banff Centre for the Arts for flutist Erin Lesser, Nakoda uses several extended flute techniques, including percussive sounds, pitch bending, and singing into the instrument. Erin premiered it in November 2002 at the Banff Centre’s Rolston Recital Hall.
Performance History:
• Premiere: November 6, 2002 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Rolston Recital Hall, The Banff Centre for the Arts • Banff, Alberta, Canada
• September 25, 2003 • Sharon Levin, alto flute • Newark Academy • Livingston, NJ • Benefit concert for Scholarship Aid
• October 22, 2003 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Recital Hall, Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University • Stony Brook, NY • Composers’ Concert
• November 22, 2003 • Sharon Levin, alto flute • New Jersey City University • Jersey City, NJ • NJ University Women Composers’ Showcase
• February 22, 2004 • Deborah Schmidt, alto flute • Unitarian Universalist Church • Berkeley, CA • Sounds New Concert Series
• March 1, 2004 • Andrea Graves, alto flute • Western Illinois University • Macomb, IL • Western Illinois University New Music Festival
• June 3, 2005 • Chenoa Anderson, alto flute • Jean McNulty Recital Hall, William H. Buset Centre for Music and Visual Arts, Lakehead University • Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada • New Music North Festival
• February 11, 2005 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Rutgers Presbyterian Church • New York City • New York Musicians for Tsunami Relief
• April 2005 • Jennifer Rhyne, alto flute • Fort Hays State University • Fort Hays, KS • Scholarship Musicale 2005
• May 2, 2005 • Nicole Molumby, alto flute • Riley Auditorium, Otterbein College • Westerville, OH • Women in Music: A Festival of Accomplishments
• February 4, 2006 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Port Jefferson Village Center • Port Jefferson, NY • Ellen Lindquist composition recital, presented by The Greater Brookhaven-Port Jefferson Arts Council
• February 5, 2006 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Easton Public Library • Easton, CT • Ellen Lindquist composition recital, presented by the Friends of the Easton Public Library
• February 6, 2006 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • The Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University • Stony Brook, NY • Ellen Lindquist composition recital
• April 2, 2006 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • Judson Memorial Church • New York City • The Music for Peace Project, NYC
• May 12, 2006 • Erin Lesser, alto flute • The Tenri Cultural Institute • New York City • Transits: Voices out of Wilderness
• February 4, 2007 • Chenoa Anderson, alto flute • Mount Allison University • Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
• February 9, 2007 • Chenoa Anderson, alto flute • Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada • The Acadia New Music Festival
• November 15, 2008 • Jennifer Rhyne, alto flute • Recital Hall, Central Washington University • Ellensburg, WA
• November 17, 2008 • Jennifer Rhyne, alto flute • Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center • Seattle, WA
• November 18, 2008 • Jennifer Rhyne, alto flute • Lagerquist Concert Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center, Pacific Lutheran University • Tacoma, WA
• November 22, 2008 • Jennifer Rhyne, alto flute • Western Washington University • Bellingham, WA
• September 27, 2009 • Lars Linna, alto flute • The Gotlands Museum • Visby, Sweden • The World New Music Days 2009
• February 17-25, 2010 • Lars Linna, alto flute • Kajse Franke, dance, Helena Högberg, choreography • Gotland, Sweden • Gotlandsmusiken tour
• February 9, 2011 • Skogensemble/Kelli Kathman • Troutman Hall • Queens, NY
• February 10, 2011 • Skogensemble/Kelli Kathman • Scandinavia House • New York City • Scandinavia House presents Skogensemble with ASF Fellows Ilari Kaila and Ellen Lindquist
• March 18, 2012 • Kirsten Elliott • The University of Alberta Fine Arts Building • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• August 10, 2012 • Andrea Graves • 40th Annual National Flute Association Convention • Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• October 20, 2013 • Andrea Graves • Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library • Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
• November 8, 2013 • Anna Svensdotter • Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden • presented by Sound of Stockholm Festival 2013
• March 8, 2014 • Cecilia Ekmark • Sofia Albertina Kyrka • Landskrona, Sverige
