Brent Michael Davids facts for kids

Brent Michael Davids, born on June 4, 1959, is a talented American composer and flautist. He is a member of the Stockbridge Munsee Community, a Native American tribe.

Davids has written music for many famous groups. These include the Kronos Quartet, Joffrey Ballet, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He also creates music for movies. For example, he scored the film The Business of Fancydancing. He even wrote new music for the old 1920 film The Last of the Mohicans. In 2013, he received a special award for his music.

Brent Davids' Early Life

Brent Michael Davids was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His family later moved to Chicago when he was young. His father worked with telephones and was also a skilled craftsman. Brent's mother was a piano teacher and led choirs.

From an early age, Brent learned piano and music theory from his mother. He also learned about audio technology and how to work with metal, glass, and crystal. Before college, Brent played the trombone and flute. He also started developing his skills as a composer. His early experiences helped him become successful later on.

Education and Learning

After high school, Brent Michael Davids attended Northern Illinois State University. He earned a degree in music composition in 1981. During this time, he also designed his special quartz flutes. Later, he earned another degree in music composition from Arizona State University in 1990. He also studied American Indian religious studies there.

Davids also studied film scoring at the Robert Redford Sundance Institute.

Music Career and Style

Brent Davids' music is often described as ambient, which means it creates a certain mood or atmosphere. His music often sounds like film scores. It also uses ideas from postmodernism and traditional Indigenous American techniques. Many of his musical pieces are written with graphic notation. This means they are also works of visual art.

Davids' music has been performed in many places. These include the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and events in Moscow, Russia. He has even made some of his own musical instruments. These include bird calls, crystal flutes, and water-based instruments. His works include pieces for solo flute, flute quartets, bands, and choirs. In 2015, he premiered his opera called "Purchase of Manhattan."

Davids started the Native American Composer Apprentice Program in Arizona. Later, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. There, he founded the Composer Apprentice National Outreach Endeavor. He also held other teaching jobs. Recently, he opened a recording studio on the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation in Wisconsin.

Davids is also involved with the First Nations Composer Initiative. He has also worked as a Composer-in-Residence for the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project.

Personal Life

Brent Michael Davids lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Discography

• 1992 - Brent Michael Davids. Ní-tCâng. Blue Butterfly Group.
• 2002 - The Business of Fancydancing. FallsApart Records/RezRoad.
• 2002 - Chanticleer. Our American Journey. Contains The Un-covered Wagon by Brent Michael Davids. Teldec.
• 2003 - The Nebraska Children's Chorus and Bel Canto, dir. Z. Randall Stroope. Homeland. Contains Zuni Sunrise Song by Brent Michael Davids (1995).
• 2011 - Valor's Kids