Education Briefs | Internationally-acclaimed violinist to coach young Diné violinists

SANTA FE, N.M.

Three Navajo violinists from across the Navajo Nation will have the opportunity on March 16 to perform and be coached in a masterclass by Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen at the Center for Contemporary Arts.

Chen, a violinist who “redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century,” has a global audience following his first prize wins at two of the most important violin competitions in the world – the Yehudi Menuhin (2008) and Queen Elizabeth (2009) competitions.

The masterclass will feature violinists Sierra Freeman, Rebekah Hillis, and Aspyn Kaskella.

Freeman is Tsi’naajinii, born for Kinyaa’áanii, and is a senior in music performance at Northern Arizona University.

Hillis is Táchii’nii, born for Tsé Nahabi?nii, and is also at NAU pursuing music education and performance.

Kaskella is Tsinsikaadnii, born for Bilagáana, and is an eighth-grader from Farmington. She has been working through the Suzuki violin curriculum for the past two years.

Renata Yazzie, the founder of the American Indian Musicians’ Scholarship, said, “This is the one of the first masterclasses of its kind that seeks to pair Indigenous approaches to education and music or song with such an open-minded, prolific artist and educator as Ray Chen.”

Yazzie is in the final semester of graduate studies at the University of New Mexico and is a pianist and will be the first Navajo to receive a master’s in musicology.

She began the scholarship in 2018 to provide American Indian students pursuing music degrees with financial and educational opportunities.

Yazzie said, “Native violinists from all over New Mexico are excited to attend and be immersed in a space of classical music where their Native identities are celebrated and not suppressed.”

The masterclass was made possible by an extension of partnership by Performance Santa Fe to the American Indian Musicians’ Scholarship with additional sponsorship from the Heartbeat Music Project.

Joe heads IAIA’s master’s creative writing program

SANTA FE – The journey of Boderra Joe, Diné, at the Institute of American Indian Arts is one of progression, though she is still writing the story.

Joe received her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from IAIA in 2016, followed by a master’s in creative writing in 2018, majoring in poetry.

After graduation, she worked in the Admissions and Community Engagement Department at the New Mexico School for the Arts and the “Rio Grande Sun” as a journalist.

Most recently, however, she has returned to IAIA as the program coordinator for the IAIA MFA in Creative Writing program.

Joe is thrilled to be back on campus among the IAIA community. She credits IAIA with helping transform her both as an artist and an individual finding her voice.

Attending IAIA began as a family tradition—her uncle and brother are also alumni—but before she knew it, the IAIA community became her second family.

Aside from her new role at IAIA, Joe dedicates time to her two passions—writing and photography.

Currently, her main focus is to finish her poetry manuscript, Desert Teeth, which will be published this fall by Abalone Mountain Press, and to capture the perfect image for the cover.

She was recently named among the first cohort for the Indigenous Nations Poets’ (In-Na-Po) fellows and will attend their inaugural writers retreat in Washington, DC, in April.

Joe‘s poetry, articles, and photography have been published in the New Mexico Poetry Anthology, Yellow Medicine Review, Indigenous Goddess Gang, Center for Contemporary Arts, Tribal College Journal, Mass Poetry: The Hard Work of Hope, Gallup Sun, and Rio Grande Sun.

She won second place in “best sports writing” for the New Mexico Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Her work will be featured in a photography exhibition at Gallery Hózhó in Albuquerque in May.

Joe also served as an artist in Bosque Redondo Memorial’s Artist in “Their” Residence program in 2021.

To view her work, visit her Instagram page at @boethepoet.

NAU proposes 3.5% tuition increase, also food, housing increases

FLAGSTAFF – Tuition may be going up slightly at Northern Arizona University next year.

President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera announced Friday they are proposing a 3.5% increase for all Flagstaff and statewide graduate and undergraduate students.

NAU’s Pledge Program, which guarantees a four-year tuition rate for incoming resident undergraduate students on Flagstaff’s Mountain Campus, will remain in place.

Rivera says the increase provides the sustainable resources NAU needs to “deliver high-quality academic and student support programs.”

The school is also proposing a 3% increase in residential housing rates to support increasing costs and to address building renovation needs.

NAU says the rate increase ensures they are competitive with off-campus housing options.

The school is also proposing a 3.9% increase in food prices on campus. The increase is due to increased labor costs and to enhance flexibility in meal plan options.

NAU’s tuition hearing with the Arizona Board of Regents will take place on March 28 from 3-5 p.m. via videoconference.

San Juan College spring holiday

FARMINGTON — All San Juan College campuses and offices will be closed for the spring holiday on Friday, March 18.

The Educational Services Center and the library will be open today, March 17, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but closed on Friday, March 18.

The Health and Human Performance Center will close today, March 17, at 4:30 p.m. The HHPC will reopen Saturday, March 19, at 6:30 a.m.

The San Juan College Department of Public Safety will continue to have security officers on duty. If you need assistance, contact a security officer for non-emergencies at 505-566-4444. For more emergent needs, officers can be contacted at 505-566-3333.

Campuses and offices will reopen at their typically scheduled hours on Monday, March 21.

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