Cris Derksen

Cris Derksen is a two-spirit Juno Award–nominated Cree cellist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Derksen is known for her unique musical sound which blends classical music with traditional Indigenous music. Her music is often described as "electronic cello" or classical traditional fusion.[1]

Cris Derksen
Born
Alberta, Canada
NationalityCree, Canadian
EducationBachelor of Music
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
OccupationMusician
Websitehttp://crisderksen.virb.com

Life and education

Derksen is from North Tall Cree reserve in Northern Alberta, Canada, she has both Cree and Mennonite heritage. She attended a performing Victoria School for the Performing Arts in Edmonton, Canada and was trained in classical music from an early age. She received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance at the University of British Columbia. During her time at UBC she held the position of Principal Cellist with the UBC Symphony Orchestra.[2]

Career

In 2009 Derkson was the curator in residence at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. She has traveled and performed internationally in numerous countries including: Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Czech Republic, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States. She has performed with the Beat Nation Live Collective, Kanye West, Kinnie Starr, Tanya Tagaq, Rae Spoon, and traditional pow wow groups.[3]

In 2015 Derkson's Orchestral Powwow Project album was produced in partnership with the independent record label Tribal Spirit Powwow.[4] During the making of this album Derkson utilized Tribal Spirit's library of powwow music as a resource and incorporated some of the traditional music found in this library in her project.[5] In the same year, Derkson was mentored by Canadian musician Buffy Sainte-Marie as part of an Ontario Arts Council grant.[2]

In 2017, Derkson performed at the Annual Public Meeting of the Canada Council of the Arts with the Cris Derksen Trio which includes drummer Jesse Baird and dancer Nimkii Osawamick.[6]

In 2019, the Art Gallery of Ontario commissioned Owen Pallet, Derksen, and Matt Smith to create three new choral works inspired by the Early Rubens exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.[7] Also in 2019, Derkson composed Maada’ookii Songlines, a choral work featuring 200 singers as part of the Luminato Festival.[8] Alongside, Chistine Tootoo and Jamie Griffiths, Derkson was part of a 2019 performance piece called Ikummagialiit, that was commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada as part of the Àbadakone exhibition on Indigenous art.[9]

Musical releases
  • The Cusp (2010)
  • The Collapse (May 2013)
  • Orchestral Powwow Project (2015)[10]

Composer credits
  • People of a Feather (feature film, 2011)
  • TransMigration (Kahawi Dance, 2012)
  • 8th Fire soundtrack (CBC television mini-series, 2012)
  • Sound design for two plays for Native Earth Theatre's Weesageechak Festival (2014)[2]
  • Teading Water, Documentary, Wookie Productions (2014)
  • The Pass System (film) (2015)[11]
  • Taken, TV series Introduction (2016)
  • Re-Quickening, Kaha:wi Dance Company (2016)[12]
  • Rise, Vice Series (2016)
  • "Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools" with Evalyn Parry (2017)[13]
  • Kamloopa (2019)
  • Maada’ookii Songlines (2019)[8]
  • Rebellion, commissioned by Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.[14]

Awards

See also

References
  1. "Bio". Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  2. Dickie, Mary (Spring 2015). "Cris Derksen enhances her sonic adventure". musicworks.ca. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  3. Ball, David P. (2013). "Electro cellist Cris Derksen 'pow-wow-wows' with creative blend". Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. Windspeaker. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  4. "Instrumental Album of the Year". junoawards.ca. Radio. 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  5. "Cris Derksen". Ritornello Fresitval. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  6. "2017 Annual Public Meeting: Pierre Lassonde". Canada Council for the Arts. January 17, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  7. "Owen Pallett, Cris Derksen and Matt Smith compose new music for the Art Gallery of Ontario". NOW Magazine. September 18, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  8. "Luminato finale a gift to the city of Toronto | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  9. "5 things you can't miss in Àbadakone, the National Gallery's exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art". Ottawa Citizen. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  10. "Cellist Cris Derksen creates new genre with Orchestral Powwow". CBC.ca. CBC Radio. October 4, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  11. "The Pass System (2015)". Tamarack Productions. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  12. "DanceWorks Presents Kaha:wi Dance Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  13. "Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools powerfully connects audience to peoples and culture of the North: review". thestar.com. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  14. "DFC music student in Thunder Bay plays with city's symphony orchestra". aptnnews.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  15. "Toronto Theatre Celebrated at the 2018 Dora Awards! Winners Announced!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
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