Raven Chacon is a composer, performer, visual artist and the first Native American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2022 for “Voiceless Mass.”
Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ, Plymouth Church United Church of Christ and Present Music commissioned Chacon.
“Voiceless Mass” was composed specifically for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This piece was made for a Thanksgiving day concert, a stark reminder of past injustices against Natives, but Chacon made an exception for this impactful piece.
Chacon is from Fort Deviance, Navajo Nation. He was a member of Postcommodity, an art collective now composed of Cristóbal Martínez and Kade L. Twist, functioning as a shared Indigenous lens and voice, forging new connections within this challenging contemporary environment.
From 2009-2018, he co-created artworks presented at prominent establishments like the Whitney Biennial, documenta 14, Carnegie International 57 and the two-mile long land art installation Repellent Fence.
As a recording artist over the span of 24 years, Chacon has appeared on more than 80 releases on various national and international labels. He has mentored high school native composers for the Native American Composer Apprenticeship Project. He also has solo artwork in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and many more.
“Voiceless Mass” was made specifically with the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in mind — taking into account the organ instrument and its architecture (specifically the high ceiling and openness of the large space).
Chacon says this work “considers the spaces in which we gather, the history of access to these spaces, and the land upon which these buildings sit.”
The use of the cathedral architecture allows a voice to the voiceless, as the piece contains no audible singing voices, displaying this effect through wind and string instruments and most importantly the pipe organ. It was renowned for its haunting impact and representation of amplifying voices that have been drowned out time and time again in history.
There is a history of the suppression of Native American voices as a whole. Chacon highlights that while the piece is voiceless, the silenced are heard loud and clear. He brings attention, a consciousness to history that is “suppressed or altered or perverted.”
In an interview with NPR, Chacon describes the voiceless in his piece inspired by Native people’s experience at Standing Rock and protests like Black Lives Matter, etc. Standing Rock referred to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, federally recognized Native American tribe Sioux, established in 1873, reduced in 1889 and marked with drawn lines in 1889.
Chacon is an important fixture in media not only because of his heritage, but because of his innovative work exploring time, space, sound and people. His scores commonly feature Western notation, including unique non-musical symbols and drawings. Becoming the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music symbolized his importance in history.
