Vi Hilbert’s
THE HEALING HEART OF LUSHOOTSEED
A DOCUMENTARY FILM FEATURING:
UPPER SKAGIT ELDER
Vi taqwšəblu Hilbert
COMPOSER
Bruce Ruddell
MAESTRO
Gerard Schwarz
THE SEATTLE
Symphony
The Healing Heart Project
Feeling heartbroken by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Vi Hilbert, an 83-year-old elder from the Upper Skagit Indian tribe in the Pacific Northwest, asked the spirit, “What can one person do to heal a sick world?” The answer she received was music. The Healing Heart of Lushootseed, a short documentary film tells the extraordinary story of how a diminutive great grandmother gathered support for her most ambitious project yet, to heal the heart of the world through music.
On May 20th , 2006, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall was filled to capacity for the world premiere of The Healing Heart of the First People of this Land, an orchestral work in four movements, by Canadian composer Bruce Ruddell, performed by the Seattle Symphony and mezzo soprano Jenny Knapp, conducted by Maestro Gerard Schwarz. Vi believed the Symphony should be performed around the world. The Healing Heart Project seeks to fulfill her vision.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
Lushootseed Research
Lushootseed Research is a non-profit organization founded in 1983. Our mission is to preserve and sustain the language and culture of this land, to lift up all people.
In all our activities LR honors the teachings of our ancestors, the strength of their philosophy, cultural education, discipline and respect for all living things. We are dedicated to sustaining Lushootseed Language and culture through research, recording, publishing and the presentation of oral traditions and literature. We seek to enrich cross-cultural wisdom and relations, as shared and celebrated by the First Peoples of the Puget Sound, to ensure this beautiful legacy is available to the coming generations.