BOULDER, Colo. Oct. 5, 2023 – Boulder Symphony to perform live a newly written soundtrack for silent film The Covered Wagon on Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m., at Pine Street Church. The concert is a premiere of a re-invisioned soundtrack performed by Boulder Symphony while the film is screened.
Join Boulder Symphony, its Music Director and Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes, and the Northern Arapaho Eagle Society as they record a new and inspiring reimagining of the soundtrack for The Covered Wagon, an epic 1923 silent film about settlers traveling in wagon trains from Missouri to Oregon who encounter conflicts with Arapaho along the way. The movie, filmed in Utah, featured 500 mostly Northern Arapaho tribal members of the Wind River Reservation.
The music written for this new recording retells the story from a tribal perspective and reverses negative Native American stereotypes perpetuated by popular media spanning three centuries. The Arapaho Redux, the name of this project, provides a safe space for diverse and collaborative voices to support the Arapaho people as they pass on the tribal language and ceremonies to their children.
Boulder Community Media (BCM) was awarded a highly competitive National Endowment for the Arts grant to bring this project to life, now five years in the making. The original score was compiled by University of Wyoming music professor Anne Guzzo, PhD, who was commissioned for this project. The music was arranged by John Clay Allen—Boulder Symphony & Music Academy’s composer in residence—and will be performed by the Boulder Symphony, led by Devin Patrick Hughes, in remembrance of the anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre. Most of the funds will pay musicians and the Northern Arapaho Eagle Drum. A short video explaining more about the project is available here.
Tickets may be purchased here. The performance and recording begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine Street, Boulder, Colorado.
Thanks to Boulder Community Media, Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, National Endowment for the Arts, Boulder Arts Commission, Wyoming Arts Council, Wyoming Humanities, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, and other supporters of this project.