Advertised as "the first-ever oratorio to be founded on an indigenous creation story" -- and it may well be so -- Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio was commissioned from composer Mark Grey by the Phoenix Symphony as part of its longstanding effort to bring a little of the American Southwest into its concert halls and to bridge the gap between Native American and Western cultures. After all, you can't play Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite every time you want to have a taste of home in concert halls in Phoenix, and the region is rich ...
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Advertised as "the first-ever oratorio to be founded on an indigenous creation story" -- and it may well be so -- Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio was commissioned from composer Mark Grey by the Phoenix Symphony as part of its longstanding effort to bring a little of the American Southwest into its concert halls and to bridge the gap between Native American and Western cultures. After all, you can't play Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite every time you want to have a taste of home in concert halls in Phoenix, and the region is rich with lore, tradition, and captivating landscapes; the very stuff great classical compositions are often made of. Grey's fulfillment of his year-long tenure as the Phoenix Symphony's composer-in-residence went well beyond the usual call of duty; a 70-minute oratorio for baritone soloists -- Scott Hendricks, in this instance -- full orchestra and a chorus of 140 voices. Enemy Slayer is based on a creation story of the Diné or, as familiarly known, Navajo people, and its libretto was...
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