Ledward Kaapana has been one of Hawai`i's most influential musicians for nearly four decades. His mastery of stringed instruments, particularly ki ho'alu (slack key guitar), and extraordinary baritone and leo ki`eki`e (falsetto) voice have made him a musical legend. Ledward is also accomplished on 'ukulele, autoharp, bass, and steel guitar, and he blends his virtuosity with an infectious joy for performing, a generous spirit, and a kolohe (rascally) sense of humor.

This performance is supported by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Thursday, October 5, through Sunday, October 8

The Classical Native will unite American Indian classical composers and musicians through a four-day musical cornucopia of recitals, chamber music concerts, school programs, as well as a roundtable with the composers. These programs will demonstrate the strikingly diverse talents of the Native music community and further the NMAI's mission to dispel commonly held perceptions about the lives and cultures of America's Native peoples.

David Yeagley (Comanche), piano, performs his own compositions, with flutists Tim Archambault (Kichesipirini) and James Pellerite.

Inquire at the theater or Welcome Desk for information.

The program will include Contemporary Music Forum performing Jerod Tate's "Spirit Chief Names the Animal People," with R. Carlos Nakai as narrator, and other works for young audiences performed by participating artists. Appropriate for Grades 3 and up.

For further information and reservations, call 888-618-0572.

Thursday, October 5, through Sunday, October 8

The Classic Native will unite American Indian classical composers and musicians through a four-day musical cornucopia of recitals, chamber music concerts, school programs, as well as a roundtable with the composers. These programs will demonstrate the strikingly diverse talents of the Native music community and further the NMAI's mission to dispel commonly held perceptions about the lives and cultures of America's Native peoples.

Noon Recital: Heidi Senungetuk (Inupiat), violin recital;

1 p.m. Composers' Roundtable (Special Location: Rooms 4018-4019);

2 p.m. Chamber Concert: University of Mary Washington Chamber Ensemble, works by Louis Ballard (Quapaw) and Raven Chacon (Navajo);

4 p.m. Recital: Barbara McAlister (Cherokee), mezzo-soprano, vocal recital with Timothy Long (Choctaw), piano, and the New York 5;

7:30 p.m. Concert: R. Carlos Nakai concert (tickets required; contact The Smithsonian Associates, 202-357-3030, www.residentassociates.org).

Thursday, October 5, through Sunday, October 8

The Classic Native will unite American Indian classical composers and musicians through a four-day musical cornucopia of recitals, chamber music concerts, school programs, as well as a roundtable with the composers. These programs will demonstrate the strikingly diverse talents of the Native music community and further the NMAI's mission to dispel commonly held perceptions about the lives and cultures of America's Native peoples.

Noon Recital: Gabriel Ayala (Yaqui), classical guitar;

2 p.m., Performers' Potpourri, with Steven Alvarez (Mescalero Apache/Yaqui/Upper Tanana Athabascan), Heidi Senungetuk, Tara-Louise Montour, Dawn Avery, and others;

4 p.m. Chamber Concert: Contemporary Music Forum, Steve Antosca, music director, performing works by David Yeagley, Barbara Croall (Odawa), Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw), and Raven Chacon (Navajo).

Singer, musician, and storyteller Steven Alvarez (Mescalero Apache/Yaqui/Upper Tanana Athabascan) honors the past and celebrates the future through a multimedia storytelling presentation with song and story. At a certain point in life, many come to realize the priceless value of Elders who teach the way of being human. Alvarez shares his vision of "Connections" with our past through story and song, giving hope to younger generations to celebrate their future, while cherishing their past.

This new opera is based on a 1704 incident in which Eunice Williams, a young girl from Deerfield, Massachusetts, was captured and raised by Mohawks from the Kahnawake community, along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Eunice's family tried to ransom her back, urging her to return to the Puritan culture in which she spent her early years, but she chose to remain with her Mohawk family.

Composer Paula Kimper, librettist Harley Erdman, and producer/director Linda McInerney, are non-Natives, but they consulted with tribal leaders from Kahnawake in creating this work. The opera has received overwhelmingly positive responses from audiences in Deerfield, Cooperstown, New York, and at Kahnawake itself.

A pre-performance discussion will look at how this story might be told from a Native perspective. Panelists will include Native historians and performers and the opera's creators. These performances are sponsored in part by the International Music and Art Foundation.

Tickets required. Members - $20; Senior Members - $18; General Admission - $25, and Students - $15. For tickets please call 202-357-3030 or visit ResidentAssociates.org.

Co-sponsored by the Embassy of Nicaragua and Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism.

Angoon Dance Group, from Angoon, Alaska (population 600) presents heritage songs and dances from the Tlingit culture and will present an engaging performance that reflects time-honored Tlingit beliefs and will the appropriate cultural protocol of wearing traditional regalia while dancing to the beat of drumming and song.

Presented as part of NMAI's Listening to our Ancestors Cultural Festival, November 3 - 25.

Gunakadeit, by Ishmael Hope (Inupiaq/Tlingit), is a one-act musical theater piece for children and families about a man, a mother-in-law, and a Sea Monster! This epic Tlingit story incorporates movement, music, and the changing voices of many characters. Playwright Ishmael Hope and three Alaska Native actors will perform this play, which is directed by Jim Simard and features music by composer Stefan Hakenberg. Co-hosted by the Smithsonian Institution's Discovery Theater.

Presented as part of NMAI's Listening to our Ancestors Cultural Festival, November 3 - 25.

Ishmael Hope (Inupiaq/Tlingit), Director of Outreach for Perseverance Theater of Juneau, Alaska, will present six days of storytelling performances with three fellow storytellers, all Alaska Natives. Mr. Hope is joined by storytellers Lily Hudson (Tlingit), Victoria Johnson (Tlingit), and Allan Hayton (Gwich'in Athabascan).

Presented as part of NMAI's Listening to our Ancestors Cultural Festival, November 3 - 25.

Lorene Boxley (Tlingit) is a storyteller, dancer, weaver, bead-worker, and native language instructor. While her husband David Boxley (Tsimshian) demonstrates his art in the Potomac Atrium, Mrs. Boxley will shares stories of her Tlingit culture for children and families.

Presented as part of NMAI's Listening to our Ancestors Cultural Festival, November 3 - 25.

Join inter-generational members of the 'Ksan Performing Arts Group of the Gitxsan Nation from north central British Columbia in a dance performance including a traditional welcome and gift giving song.

Presented as part of NMAI's Listening to our Ancestors Cultural Festival, November 3 - 25.

Continuing the museum's efforts to bring the work Native composers to wider audiences, this program will feature "Scenes from Indian Life" by Louis Ballard (Quapaw/Cherokee), "Grandmother Song" by Brent Michael Davids (Stockbridge Munsee), and premieres of works by Barbara Croall (Odawa) and Raven Chacon (Navajo) commissioned by the University of Mary Washington.

This concert is presented with support from The American Composers Forum (First Nations Composers Initiative), The National Band Association, The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, The First Nations Development Institute, The UMW Multicultural Center, The UMW Department of Music, The UMW Office of the Dean of the Faculty, The Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the Embassy of Canada.