Cris Derksen is a

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

–nominated

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

cellist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Derksen is known for her unique musical sound which blends classical music with traditional

Indigenous music Indigenous music is a term for the traditional music of the indigenous peoples of the world, that is, the music of an "original" ethnic group that inhabits any geographic region alongside more recent immigrants who may be greater in number. The ter ...

. Her music is often described as "electronic cello" or classical traditional fusion.

Life and education

Derksen is from North Tallcree reserve in Northern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, and has both

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

heritage. She attended a performing Victoria School for the Performing Arts in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Canada and was trained in classical music from an early age. She received a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in Cello Performance at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. During her time at UBC she held the position of Principal Cellist with the UBC Symphony Orchestra.

Career

In 2009 Derksen was the curator in residence at the

Vancouver East Cultural Centre Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. She has traveled and performed internationally in numerous countries including: Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Czech Republic, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States. She has performed with the Beat Nation Live Collective,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Kinnie Starr Alida Kinnie Starr (born 1970) is a Canadian multidisciplinary recording artist. Early life Starr was born and raised in Calgary, where she attended Western Canada High School. Her ancestry is French, German, Irish and indigenous, specifically ...

Tanya Tagaq Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...

Rae Spoon Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician and writer. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk. During the making of this album Derksen utilized Tribal Spirit's library of powwow music as a resource and incorporated some of the traditional music found in this library in her project. In the same year, Derkson was mentored by Canadian musician

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these are ...

as part of an

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...

grant. In 2017, Derksen performed at the Annual Public Meeting of the Canada Council of the Arts with the Cris Derksen Trio which includes drummer Jesse Baird and dancer Nimkii Osawamick. In 2019, the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

commissioned Derksen to create a new choral work inspired by the Early Rubens exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Also in 2019, Derkson composed Maada’ookii Songlines, a choral work featuring 200 singers as part of the Luminato Festival. Alongside, Chistine Tootoo and Jamie Griffiths, Derksen was part of a 2019 performance piece called Ikummagialiit, that was commissioned by the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

as part of the Àbadakone exhibition on Indigenous art. In 2020, Derksen performed as part of

CBC Gem CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

's ''

Queer Pride Inside ''Queer Pride Inside'' is a Canadian television special, which aired June 24, 2020 on CBC Gem. Created by CBC Arts and Buddies in Bad Times as a response to the cancellation of Pride Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, it presented a vi ...

'' special.

Musical releases

* The Cusp (2010) * The Collapse (May 2013) * Orchestral Powwow Project (2015)

Composer credits

* People of a Feather (feature film, 2011) * TransMigration (Kahawi Dance, 2012) *

8th Fire ''8th Fire: Aboriginal Peoples, Canada & the Way Forward'' is a Canadian broadcast documentary series, which aired in 2012. Featuring television, radio and web broadcasting components, the series focused on the changing nature of Canada's relations ...

soundtrack (

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

mini-series, 2012) * Sound design for two plays for Native Earth Theatre's Weesageechak Festival (2014) *Treading Water, documentary, Wookey Films (2014) *

The Pass System (film) ''The Pass System'' is a 2015 Canada, Canadian documentary film about the pass system (Canadian history), pass system, a former Canadian government policy in which the First Nations in Canada, First Nations were kept segregated on their reserves. ...

(2015) * Taken, TV series Introduction (2016) *Re-Quickening, Kaha:wi Dance Company (2016) *Rise, Vice Series (2016) *"Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools" with Evalyn Parry (2017) *Kamloopa (2019) *Maada’ookii Songlines (2019) *Rebellion, commissioned by Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.

Awards

* With Evalyn Parry for "Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools", Outstanding Sound Design/Composition, General Theatre Division, Dora Mavour Moore award (2018) *

Indigenous Music Awards The Indigenous Music Awards, formerly called the Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards, is an annual Canadian music award, given out to Indigenous people who are in the music industry. The APCMA receives financial support of the Department of ...

Nominee (2017) *

Nominee, Instrumental Album of the Year (2016) * First Tracks funding (2012) *

Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award The Indigenous Music Awards, formerly called the Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards, is an annual Canadian music award, given out to Indigenous people who are in the music industry. The APCMA receives financial support of the Department of ...

nominee for best new artist and best instrumental album (2011) * Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Instrumental Album of the Year (2011) *

Western Canadian Music Award The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

Nominee (2011) *

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN, stylized aptn) is a Canadian specialty channel. Established in 1992 and maintained by governmental funding to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, APTN acquired a national broadcast lice ...

rising star (2009)

References