Oklahoma Journeys

Week of July 7, 2007

Birth of Composer Louis Ballard, 1931

This week on Oklahoma Journeys: Celebrating our Centennial it's a birthday party and we're all invited! It's common knowledge that dozens of well-known performers, artists, and entertainers have emerged from Oklahoma. From opera houses to the cheesiest of reality television Oklahoma talent it seems is always highly regarded. We're celebrating yet another Oklahoma talent this week on Oklahoma Journeys from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

From the Oklahoma Historical Society, this is Oklahoma Journeys: Celebrating our Centennial, I'm Michael Dean.

Oklahoma has so many famous sons and daughters that it seems at times a bit mundane to talk about all of the various sooner state celebrities. At times, however, some Oklahoma talent receives less publicity than others and the discrepancy doesn't seem to be based on the level of talent or achievement. In the field of classical music many Oklahomans have achieved success but you hear relatively little of these performers. One person in particular has achieved a remarkable level of success during his seventy-four years. A composer, conductor, historian and storyteller, this person has received standing ovations and thrilled audiences in some of the greatest concert halls around the world, including holding major premiers of his works have been held at Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian, and Lincoln Center. Louis Ballard was born in this week of 1931 near Quapaw, Oklahoma. Of Cherokee and Quapaw descent, Ballard began at an early age to mix his Native American heritage with elements of classical music. He attended school at the University of Tulsa and the University of Oklahoma obtaining among other degrees, a masters in music composition before moving to New Mexico. Later he earned honorary doctorates from New Mexico and William and Jewel Colleges. Ballard has served in a number of roles including musical director at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, Director of Music Curriculum Programs for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as authoring a textbook and CD on Native American Indian Songs. His compositions and music has received high praise from around the world and all of them utilize elements of both Native American and classical music. In his work, "Why the Duck Has a Short Tail," Ballard utilizes a symphony orchestra, narrator, and at times life size puppets in order to relate the Native American fable. Other Ballard works include Scenes from Indian Life, Katcina Dances for Cello and Piano, and Incident At Wounded Knee among others. In 1999 Dr. Ballard was the first American composer to present a concert of his music in the Beethoven-House Chamber Music Hall in Bonn Germany. In 2004 after more than fifty years of internationally recognized work, Ballard was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. You can learn more about composer Louis Ballard and other Oklahoma artisits, by visiting the Oklahoma History center, in Oklahoma City on NE 23rd just east of the state capitol. Oklahoma Journeys: Celebrating our Centennial is a production of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is dedicated to the collection, preservation and sharing of our state's past. I'm Michael Dean.