NPR reports that a “growing number of American Indian musicians are embracing classical music.” Increasingly, the composers report, this means mixing identities in a constructive and productive way:

Mescalero Apache composer and musician Steven Alvarez hopes the classical native movement will offer American Indians a new musical voice in much the same way that reggae and hip-hop have for their cultures.

“I would really like to see native America find that fusion that would create its own genre,” Alvarez says. “It’s reflective of who we are, not rooted in our past, but it’s like who are we right now. I’m hoping maybe before I die.”

AJA