[OPERAWIRE] Composer Brent Michael Davids, the creator of “Requiem for America,” has been named as one of the recipients of The Native Arts + Cultures Foundation’s (NACF) 2025 SHIFT – Transformative Change + Indigenous Arts award.

The award honors six Native artists, curators, and cultural practitioners whose projects use creativity to advance social change. “Requiem for America,” which was commissioned by White Snake Projects and the Lenape Center and is set to premiere in Boston in 2026, explores themes of healing, systemic change, and truth-telling, confronting the genocidal foundations of the United States and giving voice to Indigenous experiences.

Each performance will feature Indigenous singers from local tribal nations alongside a Western orchestra and vocal ensemble. Davids, co-director of the Lenape Center in Manhattan and a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, is an internationally recognized composer and educator whose works have been performed by major orchestras at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and venues across Europe and Asia.