Dawn Avery (born 1961)
Dawn Avery is an American cellist and composer of Mohawk descent. She has appeared on dozens of albums classified variously as contemporary classical, jazz, folk, rock, theatre, and spiritual.
Her website states:
Grammy nominated world music artist Dawn Avery creates a contemporary soundscape from contemplative, folk, pop and classical elements. Her calmly passionate vocals and soaring cello lines reflect a deep spirituality rooted in her Native American heritage and love of sacred traditions around the world.
For Dawn Avery, the last phrase refers primarily to Sufi traditions.
This is Dawn Avery’s 2012 composition Hohonkweta’ka:ionse (the Mohawk word for “ancestry”) for native flute and string quartet. I believe the complete quintet has three movements; this video has only first two. Dawn Avery is on the cello.
This 2020 composition for violin and piano is entitled Ohnekha’shòna Yakònkwe ("waters women"):
The description on the video says:
This chamber work honors the lives and families of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), and explores the symbiotic relationship of women and water, both life-givers, through various soundscapes in the hope of raising awareness and action about the necessity to protect both the waters and women.
Each movement begins with a blessing in the Mohawk language.
This is apparently the world premiere of the three of the four movements of Dawn Avery’s suite for piano Owentsia:
Dawn Avery’s description of the music is included in the description section of the video. The third section, in which the pianist plays the piano strings like a hammered dulcimer, is particularly entrancing.