Native American Composer Apprentice Project

"Since 1984, the Grand Canyon Music Festival has been dedicated to bringing the world’s finest musicians to Grand Canyon National Park in celebration of the power and beauty of this magnificent World Heritage site. Since 1985, the Festival has extended this gift of music to the students of northern Arizona’s under-served and rural communities, primarily at schools on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. In 2001, the Festival initiated its Native American Composers Apprentice Project (NACAP) to extend its outreach to training talented Native American students in the art of composition. NACAP develops musical literacy and enhances critical thinking and decision making skills through the study of music composition. It introduces students to European “classical” music techniques, develops their understanding of their own musical heritages and how to use that knowledge to develop their own compositional voices."

​Click the links below to learn more about the Native American Composer Apprentice Project.

• Native American Composer Apprentice Project main website
• Voices That Need to Be Heard: High school students from reservations speak their minds through the voice of a string quartet
• NACAP: The Process in 2020
• NACAP and NewMusicUSA