Live in concert, guitarist Alexander Lassa and composer Charles Shadle present a celebration of the musicians’ tribal identities as enrolled members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The central work on the program is Shadle’s Wheelock Variations, a 25-minute work for solo guitar, commissioned by Lassa, that is based on “Vba Isht Taloa 139” (Choctaw Hymn 139). The event is free to the public, and all ages are welcome.
The concert title refers to the historic Wheelock Academy near Millerton, Oklahoma, and the nearby Wheelock Church. Both bear the name of Eleazar Wheelock (1711–1779), Congregational minister and founder of Dartmouth College, and an important advocate for the education of Native American people. Wheelock Academy was established by the respected early missionary to the Choctaws, Alfred Wright (1788-1853), who founded the school in 1832. He and his congregation built the stone Wheelock Church in 1845-46. Very much in the severe style of the New England country meeting house, it is the oldest church building in Oklahoma. It has recently been returned to the ownership of the Choctaw Nation.
Additional Information
This event has been made possible by generous donations to the Chahta Foundation.