A national music composer and producer showed Lincoln Public Schools students how creativity and communication can lead to bright moments in their lives.
Olivia Komahcheet visited with 25 American Indian students at the Steve Joel District Leadership Center this fall. She taught middle schoolers from Culler, Goodrich, Lefler, Mickle, Park, Pound, Schoo and Scott about the benefits of imagination and self-expression. She shared her musical compositions with them, led several networking activities and explained how they could use their talents to boost their self-confidence.
Park students Grace and Tristen said they were happy to hear Komahcheet’s message. Grace, an eighth grader, and Tristen, a sixth grader, said they were inspired by what they experienced during the morning.
“I learned about talking to other people and how to be confident,” Grace said. “It went really well.”
“I learned that it’s okay to express yourself so other people know who you are,” Tristen said.
Komahcheet said she enjoyed working with the LPS pupils. She has mentored hundreds of elementary, middle and high schoolers across North America at similar educational sessions. She said honesty is the most valuable trait she brings to every classroom or concert hall she visits.
“Kids keep it real,” Komahcheet said. “They don’t hold any fronts, so if you are not genuine, they don’t open up as much. I feel like the more real that I can come to them and say, ‘Hey, I don’t have a lot of time with you all, but we’re going to learn something today,’ that’s what works. I feel like they all are curious and want to learn, so keeping things fun helps a lot.”
LPS American Indian Education Coordinator Joe Rousseau and Lied Center for Performing Arts representative Ben Coleman said it was important for students to speak with a prestigious American Indian artist. Komahcheet, a citizen of the Comanche tribe and an Otoe-Missouria descendant, has appeared everywhere from South Dakota to Switzerland in her growing career.
Funds from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Great Plains Studies and the LPS American Indian Education Grant supported the free LPS event. Komahcheet also performed at UNL’s Johnny Carson Theater and the fifth annual Otoe-Missouria Day while in Nebraska.
“We routinely see various artists, actors and celebrities showcased within mainstream media outlets. However, rarely do these individuals share our heritage,” Rousseau said. “Visiting with Olivia provides our students an individual who shares an identity with them, supporting our own vision for ourselves. We can have whatever future we want, and Olivia is proof of this.”
“Olivia Komahcheet builds her music out of the same layers that make up her identity,” Coleman said. “Her Comanche and Otoe-Missouria heritage is woven directly into live, real-time compositions unlike anything most students will have encountered. Giving LPS students the chance to hear that story from her directly is exactly the kind of arts education experience we want every student in Lincoln to have access to.”
Komahcheet began her presentation by sharing how she was very shy and reserved growing up. She said music helped her believe in herself. She began playing the viola in third grade before adding the cello, violin, piano and guitar to her menu of talents.
“I feel like music is that vessel that allows me to share with other people,” Komahcheet said. “It’s what allows people to have emotion and to feel something.”
Tristen said he enjoyed listening to her compositions for that reason.
“I liked the music because it made me feel calm,” Tristen said.
Komahcheet’s dedication to her craft is helping her gain influence in the musical world. She has worked on sound design for theater productions in Seattle, developed original songs in London and been the lead composer on a PBS feature-length film. She has performed in both North America and Europe and has arranged pieces for several major brands.
Komahcheet told the LPS group that communication skills have become one of her biggest strengths. She encouraged them to practice their own message-making talents such as speaking, writing, visual arts, fashion design, singing, dancing, playing music, acting, woodworking or industrial arts.
“Self-expression and communication are things that bring you to places you never could have dreamed of,” Komahcheet said.
Students developed their own networking abilities with several activities. They asked questions to someone they didn’t know in the middle of a large circle during the first game. They then gathered in small groups at tables to discover more about their new friends.
Grace was one of the students who spoke in front of everyone. She said afterwards that she was glad she came to Komahcheet’s presentation.
“It was nice,” Grace said. “I met a lot of people that I didn’t know before.”
Komahcheet finished the day by inviting students to play notes on her forest green violin and black electric guitar. They also received a close-up look at her sound recording and mixing equipment.
Rousseau felt the benefits of Komahcheet’s visit would last a lifetime for everyone in the room.
“Education is the foundation of our future,” Rousseau said. “The generosity of Olivia providing our students an opportunity to experience her gifts is one of those invaluable moments that ignite our youth’s desire to make that future a reality.”
Discover more about educational opportunities for American Indian students at LPS.
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