Ongtupqa

Recorded inside the Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim of Grand Canyon in Arizona, this collection of American Indian songs celebrates the most ancient sounds to emerge from ongtupqa (the traditional Hopi name for Grand Canyon). Vocals are accompanied by a 1,500-year-old Hopi long flute and clay pot percussion. This is a powerful soundtrack for one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Clark Tenakhongva was raised in the Third Mesa village of Hotevilla. Clark is a respected traditional cultural practitioner and has a lifetime of experience singing Hopi songs. He has been invited to sing on stages around the world, and has won numerous awards for his music and katsina carvings. Gary Stroutsos is a master flute player whose contemplative music and time-honored stories evoke the lands and cultures he has studied over his 35-year career. Gary's talents flow through a variety of world flutes, but his mastery of the Hopi long flute transports listeners to a spirit of place unlike any other. Gary was a founding artist for Makoche Records, dedicated to the music of American Indian artists, and was the only non-native invited to record on that label. Matthew Nelson is an ethnomusicologist who has studied a variety of drumming traditions. He became interested in the ceramic tradition of the Southwest, and combined with his love for indigenous music, began an exploration of clay pot percussion.