Instruments and Music of Arizona’s Pioneers

The story of our state is not complete without music. This program will focus on the various genres of music that reflected the milieu and personalities of our various immigrants.  Using musical instruments and stories, audience members will be presented an artistic tableau of our past: heroes, villains, and the immigrants who passed through and settled in Arizona. For example, Coronado’s priests unrolled musical missal leaves during Mass to facilitate finding the seven cities of gold. The Indigenous tribes he encountered also had rich sacred and secular musical traditions. It is possible to learn much about a people from what they sang and the instruments that accompanied.

Jay Craváth, Ph.D. is a composer, writer, and scholar in the field of music and Indigenous studies. Dr. Craváth crafts programs from these interests into interactive discussions that include stories, musical performance, and illustrations/photography. His most recent publication is: The Mohave Book for Little Ones. Dr. Craváth is the Cultural Director for the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe.