2021 AWARD NOMINEE
MUSIC IN THE ARTS
Okara
Okara LIVE
OKARA means ‘Story’ in the Mohawk dialect. It is a primarily instrumental, Ottawa/Gatineau-based duo made up of Sandrine Masse-Savard (Huron-Wendat) on viola/drum and David Finkle (Mohawk) on guitar/native flute. Formed in 2019, Okara began writing immediately and effortlessly together having had a history already performing in the big live festival musical improvisational act: ‘Caveman Techno’ as the two native folks in that band. Writing pieces ranging from formal classical to traditional indigenous styles, Okara was performing at festivals, cathedrals, theaters in no time.. One strange challenge of Okara has been finding musical acceptance. The formal classical musical establishment prefer Okara to seemingly not bother playing ‘their’ music (Classical) and just simply bang on drums and shake rattles and wear leather, while the traditional Indigenous community are the opposite and genuinely wonder why we play classical music at all being indigenous folks. We are determined to crack that egg one way or the other because we believe in the work, and also suspect that others will NEED any inroads we are able to make things easier for them down the line. This of course means taking unconventional approaches and performing in unusual settings. But we have found that audiences are seemingly really enjoying it all the same and are happy to be trail blazers with us!
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