UW Ethnomusicology, Department of American Indian Studies, and the UW Symphony collaborate with Lushootseed Research’s Healing Heart Project in presenting this special community event.
Following a free screening of the documentary film The Healing Heart of Lushootseed, the UW Symphony (David Alexander Rahbee, director) and soprano Adia S. Bowen (tsi sʔuyuʔaɫ) perform Bruce Ruddell’s 50-minute symphony Healing Heart of the First People of This Land.
This powerful work was commissioned by Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert (taqʷšəblu) shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a vehicle for, in Hilbert’s words, “bringing healing to a sick world.”
Premiered by The Seattle Symphony in 2006, the piece draws inspiration from two sacred Coast Salish songs Hilbert had entrusted to the composer and features a number of percussion instruments native to this region.
The performance features soloist and Indigenous soprano Adia S. Bowen (tsi sʔuyuʔaɫ), a UW alumna who graduated in June 2025 with degrees in Voice Performance and American Indian Studies
Program
Film Screening: The Healing Heart of Lushootseed
Performance: Bruce Ruddell: Healing Heart of the First People of This Land
UW Symphony Orchestra with Adia S. Bowen
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