Cree vocalist heading to Grammys after stop at Carnegie Hall

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2024 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a season of momentous achievements for Rhonda Head.

Earlier this month, the mezzo-soprano from Opaskwayak Cree Nation found out an album she contributed to had been nominated for a Grammy Award.

The Fury by Ecuadorian musician Antonio Vergara is up for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Head’s vocals are featured on the track The Muse of Midnight.

“I ran upstairs to share with my sister and I burst out laughing like the Joker; I was shaking and it took a while to settle,” she says of her reaction to the nomination.

“It’s very, very exciting and I’m really grateful to him for reaching out to me.”

Head, who lives in The Pas, is one of several international vocalists included on the album. She’s not exactly sure how Vergara found her, but suspects it has something to do with her connection to the Recording Academy — an association of music professionals who cast ballots to determine the Grammy winners each year. Head has been a voting member since 2017. It appears years of hustling are beginning to pay off.

“I’ve been going to the Grammys for a couple of years and, you know, I’ve been doing a lot of networking. My voice is getting out there,” she says.

Head will return to the award show in 2025, which takes place in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, to celebrate with the other Fury collaborators. It will be her first time meeting Vergara in person, since she recorded the vocals remotely.

This weekend, Head is in New York for another career-defining moment.

On Sunday, she takes the stage at Carnegie Hall for a choral performance of Handel’s Messiah conducted by Jonathan Griffith. It will be Head’s third time performing at the iconic New York concert venue and her first accompanied by four young guests from the Arts for Manitoba Indigenous Youth Choir.

The singers — Ava Meconse, Avery Pelletier, Ja’Kiera Lynch and Georgianna Blacksmith — are between the ages of nine and 12 years old and will take the stage with 200 other choristers for the show hosted by Distinguished Concerts International New York.

It’s a dream come true for Head, who is passionate about mentoring the next generation of Indigenous musicians.

“I always say I’m a peppercorn in a sea of salt on that stage and I’m happy there’ll be five peppercorns this year,” she says with a laugh.

“I’m so extremely proud of the youth that are coming with me.”

The group has been practising together over Zoom and Head has been trying to prepare the kids for their moment in the spotlight.

“I’ve been giving them pep talks about owning your space, because it is intimidating. I keep telling them, ‘You belong on that stage,’” she says.

It’s a message Head wished she had received when she was starting out in the 1980s. A classically trained vocalist who has received dozens of awards and enjoyed international acclaim, she’s also encountered her fair share of racism in the largely white world of classical music.

“They couldn’t stop me from returning; I kept coming back because I absolutely love classical music,” says Head.

Through mentorship, she hopes to inspire young up-and-coming artists to follow their passion for the artform.

“I wish somebody told me to own my own space, to give me that extra confidence to continue to be here.”

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com