Chickasaw composer Jerod Tate's recording with the San Francisco Symphony has recently been nominated for the "Best Instrumental CD" and “Best Album Cover Design for the 2009 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Awards. 

To vote, log on to http://www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com/. Voters must sign up for a pin number to be sent to their email address. 

Released in March of 2008, the album marked the first time a major American Symphony Orchestra and an American Indian composer collaborated to record and release orchestral works. 

Tate strives to incorporate both Chickasaw and all Native American cultures and history into all of his compositions.  The list of musical groups that have performed Tate's compositions is long, with organizations spanning from coast to coast. He also holds commissions from the likes of the National Symphony Orchestra and the American Composers Forum.

Each year, Tate returns to Oklahoma to serve as the composer-in-residence for the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy.  He has also been commissioned to compose music for the grand opening of the Chickasaw Cultural Center. 

Tate's new piece, a work for orchestra and children's chorus entitled Lowak Shoppola (Fire and Light), is scheduled to premier November 21 in Ada, Okla.

For CD purchasing information, contact the Chickasaw Outpost at (580) 332-1458.