Napi and the Rock

November 20, 2021

In the spring of 2019, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra partnered with Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society to create a performance based on the sacred and historical Blackfoot teaching of Napi and the Rock. Originally scheduled for April 2020, and delayed by the pandemic, we are pleased to release this project for free online. The premiere will take place at 2:30PM on 20 November 2021, then this 30-minute performance will remain online for viewing at your convenience.

In Blackfoot culture, Napi is the being that appears as a trickster, shape-shifter, and creator. Often getting into trouble with their supernatural powers, Napi teaches us important life lessons throughout their travels. In this teaching, Napi is travelling with a companion, Kit Fox, and they encounter weather, animals, and a giant rock.

Composers Cris Derksen and Sonny-Ray Day Rider set music to this playful story, and it is brought to life by director Caleigh Crow and actors Marshall Vielle and Cory Beaver through the text of playwright Telly James.