In the latter nineteenth century, as musical Romanticism succeeded Classicism, the legacy and generally abstract style of Haydn—Mozart—Beethoven and others was joined by an increasing number of major composers whose works reflected their national and ethnic origins. Whether Spanish, Czech, Russian, or Finnish, these new composers and their works brought a powerful infusion of fresh sounds and styles that are now familiar and essential elements in our symphonic repertoire.
In like fashion, young composers today are bringing their own version of new and unique musical styles into the main stream. They create music that is a reflection of their racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds—new perspectives that continue to enrichen and broaden the world of “classical” music. And the work of Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is aptly illustrative of these changing times.
Tate, an Oklahoma native, is a member of the Chickasaw Tribe and his music reflects his deep commitment to North American native Indian culture and history. His impressive middle name is his Chickasaw “house” name, meaning “his high corncrib,” a farm building well familiar to us oldsters. In addition to his focus on his own tribe’s culture, he also has incorporated elements of numerous other tribes—from Cherokee to Shoshone.
The son of a classical dancer and choreographer and a Chickasaw tribal judge, he early on was introduced to the great classical composers. He holds degrees in piano and composition from Northwestern University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His work has garnered him fistfuls of awards and recognition, including from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the US State Department, an Emmy, and many more. Among the many groups that have commissioned him are the Dallas Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony. Finally, he has been an active keyboard player in such diverse groups as Broadway shows and ballet companies—including the Colorado Ballet.
He composes in many genres, including solo concertos, orchestral suites, vocal music, and opera. An articulate spokesman for his art, he says that his “ultimate goal in what I am writing is to express how I feel about being a Chickasaw Indian person.” He emphasizes that his music is not “radical,” and that, indeed, is based in a conservative employment of traditional classical orchestral instruments, colors, rhythms, meters, notation, and techniques—the whole lot.
Chokfi’ (subtitled “Sarcasm for String Orchestra and Percussion”) was commissioned by the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras and given its première in May 2018. “Chokfi” is the Chickasaw word for rabbit. In the Southeastern American Indian culture the rabbit is a legendary trickster and an elusive, scheming character. Tate writes that he thought it would be entertaining and fun for the students to deal with the challenges in the music that reflect that “diabolical” creature. Much of the fundamental thematic material is derived from a tribal church hymn of the Muscogee Creek nation.
Chokfi’ incorporates an impressive percussion section, and for the strings, explores many of the myriad sounds which special string techniques can generate. The result is a continuous weft of intricate musical textures. Nothing is ever quite the same or predictable—altogether apropos for the invocation of an impish Chickasaw bunny.
Divided into three sections, the work begins and ends with thundering, hammering percussion and “skronking” heavy down strokes in the strings. The percussive, jolting, constantly shifting meters soon yield to the serene Muscogee Creek hymn, accompanied by a variety of string effects: pizzicato, spiccato, bowed tremolo, and more. The quiet texture grows in intensity, as the percussion becomes more insistent, yielding to a wash of quiet string arpeggios, accompanied by murmuring tom-toms. The hymn is heard again in a luminous, rich string cloud, accented by chimes and crotales (little pitched brass disks), before quietly closing. The menacing opening section returns, and this evocative tale of “Chokfi, the abstract, darting target of challenge, wonder, and fate . . .” abruptly ends.
--Wm. E. Runyan
©2025 William E. Runyan