Ceremonies
-Noelia Cruz
Ceremonies is a composition dedicated to Bodéwadmi astronomy, honoring the Potawatomi ancestors’ star–land relationships and the knowledge keepers who, across generations, have mirrored the beauty and strength of this bond through ceremony, art, storytelling, and resistance.Exploration Institute STEAM Residency
Eighth Blackbird & Yerkes Observatory
June 2025
Kishwauketoe, Wishkosnak
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Composer and Artist in Residence: Noelia Cruz
Eighth Blackbird & Yerkes Observatory
June 2025
Kishwauketoe, Wishkosnak
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Composer and Artist in Residence: Noelia Cruz
Developed during the Eighth Blackbird Exploration Institute STEAM Residency at Yerkes Observatory, under the direction of Dr. Amanda Bauer, Deputy Director of Education and Head of Astronomy.
Composer: Noelia Cruz
Instrumentation: piano, unrepatriated flute (tenor flute), bass voice, prepared violi-maraca, violi-güiro, violi-mayohabao & birch bark sticks (cuá), cello, flute, mbira, maple sap bucket & wabgen (clay beads).
Ensemble
Noelia Cruz — composer, violi-güiro, violi-maraca, mayohabao
Ethan Cowburn — percussion arrangements
Zachary Good — tenor flute
Lina Andonovska — flute
Aaron Wolff — cello
Garrett Obrycki — piano & bass voice
Collaborators
Bmejwen, Kyle Malott (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi)
Mnogishek, Jason Wesaw, Turtle Clan (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi)
Luis Alvaro Sahagún Nuño
Free Improvisation Spice Series, Chicago
Noelia Cruz, violin
Hunter Brown, live electronics
Zachary Good, clarinet and woodwinds
Peter Maunu, guitar, violin, mandolin
EIGHTH BLACKBIRD CREATIVE LAB FELLOWSHIP, 2023
Composer: Anna Murray
Yerkes Observatory, Lake Geneva, WI
Composer: Tyler Eschendal
Yerkes Observatory, Lake Geneva, WI
Audio engineer: Matthew McCabe
Video: Brian Ashby
@eighthblackbird, @yerkesobservatory #EighthBlackbird