Meet the Composer: Raven Chacon

BACKGROUND

Raven Chacon [shuh-COHN] was born in 1977 in the Navajo Nation and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico as a child. He grew up listening to a lot of music that influenced him, like music on the radio and Navajo songs sung by his grandfather. He also took piano lessons and learned several other instruments. He realized that he really liked playing with different sounds, so he decided to become a musician. 

Raven Chacon writes for all sorts of instruments, including things that usually aren’t thought of as instruments, like an ax hitting a block of wood. He often uses graphic scores, which are images, symbols, or pictures that help give musical instructions to the performers. His music has been performed all over the world. In addition to composing, he teaches young Native American composers to write string quartets every summer. He became the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2022. 

MUSIC

1. Raven Chacon sometimes writes site-specific works, or a work that must be performed in a certain location. This piece is meant to be performed on public land in the San Francisco Bay area, near water. Notice how the landscape itself is turned into an instrument. In this excerpt, or section, of the piece, you will also notice interesting combinations of sounds coming from traditional instruments played in non-traditional ways. 

2. This piece was commissioned from Raven Chacon by a famous string quartet, meaning they paid him to write this piece especially for them. In this video, you will see the score, or the music the musicians read to play the piece. Notice that Raven Chacon uses standard Western notation (like dynamic markings and notes on a staff) but also includes a lot of written directions, symbols, and shapes. As you watch and listen, follow along with the sounds and images on the score. Do you notice spots where you can connect a sound you hear to an image you see? 

   Note to teachers: If score video is projected, you may want to follow along with a finger to help students track. You may also want to show just a portion of this piece.  

3. This piece uses a graphic score, which is both projected above the stage for the audience to see and laid out on the ground in front of the conductor. Notice the musician chopping wood as an instrument!  

   Note to teachers: Content and length best suited for upper elementary, middle, or high school. If an earlier stopping point is needed, the 10 minute mark works well. 

CREATE, CONNECT & RESPOND

1. Raven Chacon enjoys exploring sounds in his compositions. Learn more about what makes different sounds interesting with our What is TIMBRE? lesson. 

2. Raven Chacon gets creative with instruments, and sometimes makes up his own instruments. Try this for yourself with our Create Your Own Instrument lesson! 

3. Hear music from five other Indigenous American composers, in addition to Raven Chacon, in the YourClassical article 6 works by Native American composers.