Music that informs, connects, and inspires people to act for environmentally just causes.
Upcoming Events
Jerod Impichchaachaaaha' Tate,
Ámmo'naka (In a Beginning)
Wednesday, April 22nd | 7:30 PM
Jo Ann Rooney Hall | Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts
Ámmo'naka̱ (In a Beginning) is a new work composed for the Loyola Choirs and The EcoVoice Project by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. With new poetry entirely conceived in the Chickasaw language by Lokosh Hinson, Ámmo'naka̱ combines Western technique and Chickasaw folk music to explore American Indian ecology and creation. Additional works by Andrew Balfour, Brent Michael Davids, and Sherryl Sewepagaham will round out the program.
This commission is supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.
In the months leading up to the premiere, Loyola will offer additional opportunities to engage with related topics. Keep reading to learn more.
Lecture with Brandi Berry Benson,
American Indian Music Traditions
Chickasaw Nation
Monday, February 16 | 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Skowronski Music Hall | Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts
What is Native American music? It is a question that arguably many scholars, ethnomusicologists, and anthropologists still struggle to answer today. In this lecture, Brandi Berry Benson, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, performing musician, composer, and scholar, shares her insights and research of Native American music traditions from a Native perspective, putting forward the notion that this may be the wrong question to ask altogether.
Sponsored by the LUC Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
Lecture with Lokosh, Anompa’ Chokma’si’:
Poetry in Chickasaw Language
Chickasaw Nation
The Chickasaw people began to engage in language revitalization in the 1970s. Today, the modern Chickasaw language revitalization movement is active and dynamic, as new speakers are created and new forms of life for the language emerge. One of these forms is Chickasaw poetry. Lokosh will discuss his creative process and poetics in the greater context of Chickasaw language revitalization in 2026.
Sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Department of English.
This event is free! RSVP encouraged.
Tuesday, April 21 | 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Skowronski Music Hall | Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts
Panel Discussion,
The Creation of Ámmo'naka
Chickasaw Nation
Wednesday, April 22 | 6:00-7:00 PM
Palm Court | Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts
Join composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, librettist Lokosh, American Indian music scholar Brandi Berry Benson, and conductor Kirsten Hedegaard as they discuss the collaborative process in the creation of Ámmo'naka.
This event is free! RSVP encouraged.
We are a 2025 Climate Action Hero Awards Winner!
This award for climate advocacy through Arts & Entertainment gives support to our central mission here at The EcoVoice Project- that we can and should make use of what music does best. Music invites us in, compels us to listen and reflect, and moves us to action. It creates space through performances and dialogue to engage the complexities of our interaction with nature and the challenges our global ecosystems and climate face, and we could not be prouder of our work thus far and all we have planned for the future to continue our fight for a better future for our planet and all its inhabitants.
Thank you to the Climate Action Museum for this recognition.
Read all about our 2026 season!
EcoVP News
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Support the EcoVP
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We can’t do this without the help of others—of people like you who see the power of music to change hearts and minds and bring good into the world. A gift of any amount is meaningful if given from the heart ❤️ and goes to support the work of musicians and other artists, scientist and activist collaborators, and students who make the work of The EcoVP a reality. And it’s also tax deductible!
The EcoVP is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.