Celilo Falls: We Were There
A moving, multi-media orchestral work that explores the geologic and human history of Celilo Falls…
Celilo, Oregon was likely the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent until 1957 when the construction of the Dalles Dam submerged the falls and nearby settlements.
Native Americans lost not only their livelihoods but their cultural home for millennia. This sonic and visual tapestry of evocative music, personal recollections, and immersive imagery conveys Native peoples’ depth of presence in this land and the universal power of place.
Photo by Joe Cantrell: Ed Edmo with Nancy Ives
Nancy Ives is “one of Oregon’s most prominent and accomplished classical musicians...
[Her] new composition supplies a sonic evocation of the place and people Edmo and Cantrell illuminate in their respective art forms, a musical connection between Cantrell’s imagery and Edmo’s stories.”
— The Oregonian
Left to right: Ed Edmo (writer/storyteller), Yaacov Bergman (artistic director, Portland Chamber Orchestra), Nancy Ives (composer), and Joe Cantrell (photographer)
Performances
June 6 - 9, 2025 - Oregon Symphony - Premiere for full orchestra
August 25, 2024 - Siletz Bay Music Festival
2022 World Premiere with Portland Chamber Orchestra:
June 4 - Patricia Reser Center for the Arts - Beaverton
June 5 - St. Michael's Lutheran Church - Portland
June 11 - Granada Theatre - The Dalles
The Oregonian: ‘Celilo Falls’ mingles music, images and stories to summon a lost Native American homeland
This full-page spread from June 3, 2022 was written by Brett Campbell, with images by Joe Cantrell.
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Think Out Loud, hosted by Dave Miller
This session aired live on June 2, 2022 with Joe Cantrell, Ed Edmo, and Nancy Ives.
“We all shared the goal of using the power of music to bring people together in a shared emotional experience. We wanted to use that to create a wider awareness and understanding of what Celilo Falls was, and what it meant to our native neighbors, whose ancestors had lived and fished there for at least ten thousand years – and they are still here.” — Ives
Reser Gallery: Undercurrents - Celebrating the Sounds of Celilo
An Artist Talk on April 30, 2022 with Joe Cantrell, Ed Edmo, & Nancy Ives was curated in coordination with the art exhibit: Celilo - Never Silenced at the brand new Reser Gallery in Beaverton, OR.
“Her music — melancholy and turbulent in ‘Celilo Fisherman,’ exalted in ‘Grandfather Storyteller,’ angry in ‘Celilo Falls’ … The inner rhythm of the waterfalls, the percussive flopping of salmon heads striking rocks, even the wind eventually made their way into her 11-movement, 45-minute composition.”
— The Oregonian
Photo by Joe Cantrell
Ives creates music of consequence and enjoys working with Indigenous artists to authentically capture, amplify, and relay their stories to wider audiences. This multimedia work will depict the history of Celilo Falls and the Native communities who have lived there for millennia - from the Missoula floods that formed the gorge, to the inundation of the Falls in 1957 and the present day experience of those who’ve lost so much. Many Oregonians are unaware of what was there, its significance for Native peoples, and what was lost; Ives’ piece will shine a light on writer/storyteller Ed Edmo and those who still suffer from that loss, using a compelling combination of music, text, and imagery to bring a wide audience together in a shared experience.
The Siletz Bay Music Festival premiered one section of the piece and the Portland Chamber Orchestra premiered the complete work as part of the highly-anticipated inaugural season of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton.
Meet the Collaborators…
Cherokee photographer Joe Martin Cantrell uses his personal depth of perspective in combination with sophisticated techniques to make visible things that often go unseen. After two tours as a Navy officer in Vietnam, Cantrell worked as a photojournalist for UPI, Black Star, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and hundreds of other publications worldwide. He has taught at Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Mount Hood Community College, and was Artist in Residence at Crow’s Shadow Institute. Cantrell carries the name of an ancestor who died on the Trail of Tears, and offers his own meaningful legacy through generous contributions to benefit humanitarian causes and the arts.
Photo by Joe Cantrell: Self-Portrait
Ed Edmo is a Shoshone-Bannock poet, playwright, performer, traditional storyteller, tour guide, and lecturer on Northwest tribal culture. Edmo offers guided tours to sacred Native sites, conducts workshops, and offers traditional storytelling performances, dramatic monologues, and lectures on issues such as cultural understanding, substance abuse, and mental health. Edmo is a published short story writer, poet, and playwright, and serves as a consultant to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian.
Photo by Joe Cantrell: Ed Edmo