Louis W. Ballard

Louis W. Ballard ( born July 8, 1931 † February 9, 2007 in Santa Fe (New Mexico)) was an American composer of Indian descent.

Life and work

Ballard studied music at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa. His composition teacher was Bela Rozsa, later he had private lessons with Darius Milhaud, Mario Castelnuovo- Tedesco, Carlos Surinach and Felix Labunski. In 1962 he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he taught until 1975 at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Ballard composed works for orchestra, choral and chamber music, where several compositions make reference to texts and melodies North more American Indians. He has collected Indian music, published in several volumes and arranged for classical ensembles. His most famous pieces are " Incident at Wounded Knee " and "Why the Duck Has a Short Tail".