Composer Spotlight

A conversation between Michael and Shantel about Michael BussewitzQuarm

Shantel Sellers

It was through Shantel that I learned Indigenous women are more likely to be abducted, assaulted, and murdered than any other population group. As we talked about the MMIWG (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls) movement, my first reaction was one of shock; from there, a deep sadness, especially thinking of my own two daughters. I knew we had to shine a light on this crisis. The resulting song, “I’m Not Lost”, is a cry for missing mothers, daughters, sisters, and Two Spirit (LGBTQ) loved ones. It is more than words and melody; it is an expression of longing and grief for those whose voices have been silenced.

Born in tragedy,

“I’m Not Lost” is a testament to the perseverance and strength of Indigenous communities. It began in 2019 when Shantel and I were commissioned by Central Bucks West High School in Pennsylvania to create something for their ACDA Eastern Division Conference performance in Rochester, New York. The theme was giving voice to the plight of marginalized communities.

Since Shantel and her family moved from a nearby town back to Michigan, our collaborations have been mostly virtual but remain very organic. After catching up on each other and our families, we get to work. At times, this will be Shantel sharing a new verse with me, followed by me improvising at the piano with melody and mood. Other times, Shantel will share a single line, on which I will then improvise, followed by the music inspiring Shantel’s next line.

Mbq

How did you choose the Native languages in our piece: Western Abenaki, Odawan, Lakota, and Navajo/Dine?

They are from four different regions of North America. I chose them to illustrate that it happens all over. Ultimately this is a crisis affecting not just North America, but Indigenous communities around the world, including our Kanaka Maoli sisters of Hawai'i.

Mbq

Ss

The beginning is Baashk’amaaza is a call. A call for us to gather and raise our voices together.

Mbq

There is a solemnity to the next section that grounds the music into the subject matter. We go from a comforting hum to a cry of mourning. This is the first section that the listener hears what the song is about.

Solemnity, yes; but also confusion, because the women are not lost, they are somewhere. In Native teachings, all people, all life is connected. It is not possible for someone to just not exist anymore. All things are connected and continue to be, whether they are alive in a physical sense or not. The missing women are saying, “We are not lost, we are still here, FIND ME.” We are not allowing our sisters to be forgotten.

Ss

Yes! Your music gives it an immediacy that even a non-Native speaking person can hear. It makes something rise up in the soul. With every repetition, one hears a more urgent call to speak out.

Ss

Mbq

In the call and response sections, the responses are in English but the calls are in Native languages. Why did you make that choice?

Mbq

What is the most significant section to you?

For me it is “daughter, daughter”. I suppose this is because as I get older, I feel like I am Mother to the whole world! They are all my daughters. But we also highlighted the “sister, sister” section to emphasize that all Indigenous women are sisters. Our bonds transcend tribes, lands, and even continents.

Mbq S

The “call and response” ending represents an agreement and a cry for action. The repetition indicates the enormity of the problem - there are so many people who are missing, so many families who are

Mbq

For me, it is the “two-spirit” section. It’s very meaningful that you included Niizh Manidoowag because of my own identity as a transgender spirit, and because of the dangerous dehumanization of the transgender community in our current climate.

There’s no way I would have left it out. Trans women have always been part of this story.

Ss

It is a call to hear, a call to listen, a call to respond to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In the last verse, a sister that has disappeared “walks among the stars.” Although she is not among us in the physical world, we are going to hold her in our hearts and in our memories. In this way, she lives on.

Ss

For Native people, our language is more than just a part of our culture. It is a connection to our ancestors, to who we are now and who we have always been. Maybe the language is powerful enough to reach the spirit world. Maybe our sisters who have walked on will hear us calling for them and know they are not forgotten.

Ss

Our collaboration works in part because of your empathy and compassion; you naturally create a safe space to present any idea, no matter how “out there” it might be. We get a lot of creative momentum from that level of trust. You are always listening, and you always hear the music in my words.

Ss

Mbq

Some of the most magical moments in my musical career have come from our collaborations. You have a way of listening to the people whose stories we are sharing and painting them in a way that gives them deep meaning.

Shantel Sellers Michael Bussewitz-Quarm

is a Native American (Anishinaabe-kwe) poet, novelist, and historian. She penned “I’m Not Lost” to bring attention to the plight of murdered and missing Indigenous women. “As I was writing, there were times when the memories of friends and relatives left me frozen. Still this was a healing process. It is my hope that others – my sisters of all Nations - will find courage, healing and hope in it as well.” Shantel often writes of her experiences as a Native daughter, wife, and mother. Her work has appeared in Indian Country Today, Renaissance and History magazines, and other national publications. She recently completed her first novel.

engages singers and audiences through the soulful exploration of social and environmental themes around the world in her award-winning music. Michael is passionate about affecting change through choral music, addressing topics ranging from art in post-civil war Raleigh-Durham, to gun violence, to the global refugee crisis.

A centerpiece of each commissioning consortium is the opportunity to work with Ms. Bussewitz-Quarm virtually and through pre-recorded panel discussions with artists, authors, and thought leaders in the area of focus.

Additionally, tshe toffers tan textensive tcatalog of existing work through self-publication (www.listenafresh.com) and Peermusic Classical. Ms. Bussewitz-Quarm won The American Prize in Composition (major works) in 2021. Michael will make her Carnegie Hall debut in 2023 featuring her work, "Where We Find Ourselves" and a Lincoln Center performance of "The Unarmed Child" is scheduled for March of 2024.

ACDA Grant and Funding Opportunities

Requirements

The Grant has a value of $1,000 and is available to public middle school music teachers in the United States. The Grant Purpose, Guidelines and Conditions may be viewed on the Foundation’s website: www.prmfoundation.org

The composer must be a current Student Member of ACDA ($15 annual dues). Submitted works must not be traditionally published but may have been previously premiered/performed; self-published works are eligible for the Brock Student contest. Composers may submit only one work per competition. Works may be for any voicing (mixed voice, treble, or tenor/bass choirs) and may include divisi. Works under six minutes in length will receive priority consideration due to performance time constraints. Works may be a cappella (keyboard reduction must be included) or may be accompanied by keyboard and/or 1-2 other instrumental players.

The dissertation of a student with a degree earned the prior year can be nominated through June 15 of the following year.

Description

The non-profit Peter R. Marsh Foundation Middle School Music Grant for the 2022/23 school year will be available through the month of January, 2023.

January 31, 2023

Middle School Music Grants Available to U.S. Public Middle School Music Teachers

To further its mission to promote choral music and ensure its future, ACDA established the Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition in 1998. The objectives of the contest are to acknowledge and reward outstanding high school, undergraduate, and graduate student composers, to encourage choral composition of the highest caliber, and to further promote student activity at ACDA conferences.

July 13, 2023 at 11:59pm central time

ACDA’s Brock Prize for Student Composers

The winner will be awarded a $5,000 cash prize and complimentary conference registration at their regional ACDA conference. The winning composition will be performed at all six regional ACDA conferences; the winner is expected to attend the performance at their own region’s conference.

Each year the Julius Herford Prize Subcommittee of the Research and Publications Committee accepts nominations for the outstanding doctoral terminal research project in choral music. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a plaque. The committee reserves the right to award two prizes or no prizes in any given year.

See requirements