An undergrad shining a light on First American influences in music through her research project was selected to present her findings at the Oklahoma State Capitol this month.
Jaden Johnston, a senior instrumental music education major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO), recently presented her mentored research project at the 30th annual Research Day at the Capitol, April 14.
Johnston’s research focuses on the First American influence of “Spirit Flight” by the late acclaimed flutist and composer Katherine Hoover. Johnston is one of 31undergraduate students from Oklahoma’s higher education institutions selected to participate in the prestigious event.
In addition to discussing the history and design of the Native American flute in her research, Johnston, a Chickasaw citizen, demonstrates the connection between Hoover’s use of extended techniques and unconventional compositional methods and the First American tradition and style.
Johnston, a flutist, selected to conduct her research on Hoover’s “Spirit Flight” in an effort to bring awareness to First American influence on music.
“Katherine Hoover is not a Native American woman. She only has some vague relationships with Native culture,” Johnston said. “I was very curious how she actually made it feel like it had this cultural influence without growing up in that. I also decided I was going to tie the notation methods and the computational techniques that she did with the unconventional parts of her writing because she does write very contemporary and very unconventional.”
Katherine Hoover (1937-2018) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and chamber music. She was also a flutist, musical composition and music theory teacher, a poet, and a conductor of her music. Her career as a composer began in the 1970s when few women composers earned recognition in classical music.
“The goal of the research is to provide a place that you can talk about women composers and cultural compositions,” Johnston said. “That is my whole goal, to understand how important these things are because we don’t talk about them enough.”
Research Day at the Capitol was established to showcase outstanding undergraduate research being conducted at Oklahoma’s colleges and universities in the areas of science, including social science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Students are nominated by their institution’s leadership to participate in the event, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR) and the National Science Foundation.
Nominated students present their research to state lawmakers and the public in the capitol’s rotunda during the legislative session. In addition, students’ posters and oral presentations are competitively judged by an independent panel, and winners are announced at the conclusion of Research Day, during an awards ceremony at the capitol.
Johnston said her research is the only one of its type in this year’s event. It is a representation for music education.
“I think I’m the only music or humanities project that was submitted entirely,” she said.
Other topics include planetary defense, heart regeneration and healing fatigue cracks in aluminum alloys, among others.
Her journey to the capitol began when she was preparing for her senior recital at USAO.
“I needed an hour’s worth of flute music that I could perform, and I wanted them to all be women composers,” she said. “I found a bunch that were your typical run-of-the-mill romantic style, but I really wanted an unaccompanied piece because I had never played one before. My private instructor recommended Katherine Hoover.”
She chose Hoover’s “Spirit Flight” and as she practiced for the recital, Johnston was inspired by the extended techniques Hoover composed, which are an advanced flute method.
“(Hoover) uses weird ways to write music to give very specific effects,” she explained.
Johnston embarked on a deep dive about the work, Hoover’s techniques, and why and how the music evokes certain feelings, something that has not been researched, she said.
“I found a lot of information about how it’s done, the techniques used in a spiritual context or the way that Native music sounds ‘Native,’ but I couldn’t find anything that ever tied them together. What was it about the extended techniques that made them sound Native?
“That was my goal, to tie them together, and Katherine Hoover was the way I did that.”
Johnston presented her mentored research project followed by her senior recital Nov. 17, 2024, in the Alumni Chapel on the USAO campus.
“I presented my research over it and then performed it right after. Everyone said it was so nice to understand what they were hearing,” she said.
Johnston is currently a student teacher at Elgin Public Schools and looks forward to graduating with honors in May.
Growing up in Velma, Oklahoma, she decided early on she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a teacher.
“My dad, he is my Chickasaw parent, is a cowboy and my mom is a teacher. Going into my senior year, I decided I don’t want to be a cowboy so let’s go the education route,” she chuckled.
Johnston initially chose to pursue English education until the high school band director left in the middle of the school year. The responsibility of leading the class temporarily fell to her, the drum major.
“That’s when I decided if I actually knew what I was doing. I could do this. This could be my job. That’s why I decided music education was what I wanted.”
Johnston is the daughter of John and Laura Johnston and the great-granddaughter of Chickasaw Hall of Fame member Elba “Cutchie” Johnston. Inducted in 1994, Elba Johnston is described as a musical artist and received numerous awards and commendations for her volunteer service for the many contributions she made to her community, her church and the Chickasaw Nation.
Although her great-grandmother Elba died before she was born, Johnston said she grew up hearing stories about her. She really connected with her Chickasaw heritage while researching for a history class genealogy project. She chose to research her Chickasaw ancestors.
“I got to go through all of this old paperwork and find different reports.”
She read about the family’s move to Milo, Indian Territory, located in present-day Carter County.
“I think it was my great-great-grandfather who actually founded Milo, and then he married a Chickasaw woman and they had four kids, one of which was Elba,” she said.
“It was really cool to see exactly how they were on the (Removal). Some of my ancestors were born in Indian Territory, Mill Creek, and some are still in the same location, ages later.”
She said her mother’s sister also married a Chickasaw, so she has several Chickasaw cousins.
Johnston credits Chickasaw Nation programs, scholarships and services for helping her achieve her academic goals. The music education degree path at USAO is an intensive five-year track, which doesn’t leave much time for anything else.
“The scholarships are a lifesaver. It was just like a weight off my shoulders. I got scholarships through the school and through the Chickasaw Nation. I can worry about my school and worry about my education, and that is it.”
Johnston plans to be an instrumental music instructor following graduation. Her personal music educational philosophy is that band helps students develop life skills such as time management, independent work and group collaboration.
“Band has high expectations. If you run a good band program, your kids know the expectations and they’ll meet them. I think it’s not only important academically, because it does improve their skills, but it’s important from a life standpoint. They take those skills that they learn in music throughout the rest of their careers.”