A Conservation with Timothy Long, pianist and conductor of Muscogee, Thlopthlocco, and Choctaw descent
In honor of #IndigenousPeoplesDay, Opera NexGen General Director Jaime Sharp met with Timothy Long for a discussion around representation and identity in opera:
As we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 8, it is necessary that we not only uplift Indigenous voices, but reflect on America’s history and our unconscious contribution to the further erasure of Indigeous peoples culture and presence. I had the pleasure of chatting with Timothy Long, pianist and conductor of Muscogee, Thlopthlocco, and Choctaw descent who is also the Music Director of Opera at the Eastman School of Music on his journey of integration between artistry and identity and how non-Native’s can support these communities.
Long is extremely active in the classical music industry, serving as a conductor, educator, judge, panelist and host of the podcast Unequal Temperment, but revealed that he has always been this involved and outspoken about his heritage.
“All of these years that I’ve been sort of rising up in the industry have been a very white world and it’s just one of those things we sort of...I think everybody just sort of silently accepted. You know when you’re a young artist you want to fit in – which is exactly against what we should want,” says Long. “It wasn’t until later for me, it was in the early oughts that the Smithsonian started something called Classical Native – a wonderful man named Howard Bass started this series where he invited a lot of Native classical musicians to DC and we would do concerts together and get to know each other and that was the beginning of it. But still I hadn’t gotten to the point where I knew how to start combining [my identity and music].”
“It wasn’t until just a few years ago honestly where I was starting to search for things.” Long speaks on his continued journey of self-discovery when he began working on the opera Missing in 2017. The piece was co-comissioned by Pacific Opera Victoria and City Opera Vancouver focusing on the thousands of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. “For me this was like a birthright because I was surrounded by Indigenous people every single day in rehearsal and outside of rehearsal. And I was meeting so many different Nations and they were all completely accepting of me.”
“I thought, how can I stay silent on something like this when my people are suffering so much without a voice? So I started thinking, well, with whatever little voice I have, I need to start representing my people because otherwise people don’t see us as human...if they see us as the other, that’s easy to ignore.” Long goes on to say, “I started speaking up. I grew my hair long in indigenous solidarity, really because I want to be present for other people.”
When asked about how we can aid Indigenous artists his immediate response was by reciting land acknowledgements. This has been increasingly popular in Canada and by some groups in the United States as well. “The thing about land acknowledgement is that it serves everyone because it puts you in a place of honesty and sincerity. And then you begin your rehearsal process or your performances in a place of humility which means you’re ready to accept information and accept stories. That simple gesture will do so much.” He recommended downloading an app called “Native Land” which will tell you who originated the land of any location across North America.
“If you want to start a change it’s as simple as, well let’s do land acknowledgements, let’s diversify our repertoire.” Long also mentioned that the Eastman Opera Theatre has already incorporated land acknowledgements before their performances. “It puts us in a place of truth. I feel like in America we really can’t tackle racism without acknowledging how this country began. And nobody does. People will acknowledge it and they don’t say anything about it because we are so desensitized to Native issues.”
I argue that artists’ individuality and uniqueness is one of the most appealing attributes of performance. Embracing ones identity and unapologetic self will only enhance our connection to one another.
“I’m obsessed with music, I absolutely love music and this is the first time in my life where I feel like there is cause that I stand for that is as important, if not more important than music right now. So I’m thinking of music as a platform for justice really.”
Timothy Long is a conductor and pianist of Muscogee Creek and Choctaw descent from the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town. He has been praised by critics for his “sharp conducting” (Washington Post), and his orchestras have triumphed with displays of “breadth, depth and color” (Riverfront Times).
Learn more at timothylongmusic.com
Listen to Unequal Temperament podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unequal-temperament/id1540355918
Native Land App: https://native-land.ca/resources/mobile-app/
Missing Opera: https://pacificopera.ca/whats-on/missing/
Pacific Opera Victoria: https://pacificopera.ca/
City Opera Vancouver: https://cityoperavancouver.com/
