Native American flutist to play at ECC
R. Carlos Nakai, a Grammy-nominated Native American flutist, and guitarist Will Eaton will perform at Elgin Community College's Visual and Performing Arts Center at 5 p.m. Sunday at the center's Blizzard Theatre, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Tickets are $25 and $21.
Nakai, who is of Navajo-Ute heritage, is the world's premier performer of the Native American flute. Originally trained in classical trumpet and music theory, he was given a traditional cedar wood flute as a gift and challenged to see what he could do with it.
Nakai has released more than 35 albums since 1983, working with flutist Paul Horn, composers James DeMars and Phillip Glass, and various symphony orchestras. His latest recording is 2007's "Voyagers," with cellist Udi Bar-David.
Although Nakai is well-grounded in the flute, he has explored new musical settings, including new age, world-beat jazz and classical. His cross-cultural collaborations have included albums with a Japanese folk ensemble and a Tibetan flutist and singer.
He has earned two gold records, received eight Grammy nominations and performed extensively throughout the world.
A frequent collaborator with Nakai is Eaton, who has designed and built many multi-stringed instruments that are considered to be works of art and have been featured in books, magazines, museums and art exhibits.
This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from the General Mills Foundation, Land O'Lakes Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council.
Tickets for all performances in ECC's Arts Center are available online at www.elgin.edu/arts or at the ECC box office in the Arts Center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted. For details about the ECC Arts Center's season, visit www.elgin.edu/arts.