UW Guest Artist Concert: The Öngtupqa Trio

• Clark Tenakhongva, voice
• Gary Stroutsos, rim flute
• Matthew Nelson (AZ), percussion

The Öngtupqa Trio, featuring Clark Tenakhongva (Hopi singer, recording artist, and past vice chairman of the Hopi Tribe), shares music from their recent Hon Muru (Bear’s Ears) project. This concert is part of a three-day UW residency by the trio.

Öngtupqa Trio Residency at the University of Washington: The Öngtupqa Trio is partnering with the University of Washington April 17-20, 2024 to bring Hopi music, culture, history, current environmental protection initiatives, and other relevant topics to UW students during Spring Quarter 2024. The Öngtupqa Trio is made up of Clark Tenakhongva, Gary Stroutsos, and Matt Moon Nelson. Clark is a Hopi singer and recording artist, and served as Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribe from 2018-2022. Gary is a gifted flute player with more than 45 albums to his credit; he specializes in playing the Southwestern rim flute (known as leena to Hopi, and is among the oldest known wind instruments in North America). Matt is a percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and world music radio DJ on KXCI-FM.

About Öngtupqa Trio

Music has the power to connect people to place in a profound way. With the Desert View Watchtower offering one of the world’s most renowned cultural and geographic landscapes, a trio of musicians with a strong connection to Grand Canyon recorded music inside the Watchtower on October 17, 2017. Through traditional Hopi vocals, the ancient sounds of the Hopi long flute and clay pot percussion, Öngtupqa (the Hopi name for Grand Canyon that translates to "Salt Canyon") features the oldest instruments from this corner of the world through original compositions inspired by the canyon.

Clark Tenakhongva, Gary Stroutsos, and Matthew Nelson use their mastery of voice, flute and percussion to bring the acoustics within the building to life and use the Watchtower itself as an acoustic vessel.

About UW School of Music

http://music.washington.edu/

About Clark Tenakhongva, voice

http://tenakhongva.com/

About Matthew Nelson (AZ), percussion

Matthew Nelson is an ethnomusicologist and host of Global Rhythm Radio on KXCI FM who has studied a variety of drumming traditions with master musicians, including tabla (melodic drums of North India) with Pandit Sharda Sahai of the Benares gharana of tabla. While working as an archaeologist, Matthew became interested in the ceramic tradition of the Southwest, and combined with his love for indigenous music began an exploration of clay pot percussion. He also served as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and NAGPRA Consultant for the Bishop Paiute Tribe in the Owens Valley of California where he grew up. Matthew has spent hundreds of days within Grand Canyon and worked there for over a decade as a backpacking guide. He lives off-the-grid in the Sonoran Desert southwest of Tucson and works as the Executive Director of the Arizona Trail Association.