William F. Hanson

William Frederick Hanson (October 23, 1887 – June 22, 1969) was an American composer and music teacher who served as professor of music at Brigham Young University who specialized in Native American music. He studied, composed, and taught music. He is most well known for working with Zitkala-Sa on The Sun Dance Opera, an opera based on the sacred ritual of the Lakota Sun Dance.

Biography

Hanson was born in Vernal, Utah. He grew up in Utah near the Sioux and the Utes of the White Rocks and Fort Duchesne, with whom he became friends. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Brigham Young University (BYU) and then attended the Chicago Music College and Columbia University. He returned to Provo to teach at BYU in 1924 and was on the faculty for thirty-three years. Later, he was an instructor of music at Uintah academy. He lived with the Utes on the Uintah reservation and he would attend their religious festivities.

Hanson's main passions in life were music and learning about Native American cultures. His Native American friends gave him the name Ampa-O-Luta, meaning "the first tint of red in the east at dawn." His master's thesis is called The Lure of Tam-Man Nacup Springtime Festival of the Utes. He authored another book called The Lure of the Wigwam. "The Trail of the Y," and "Utah We Love Thee."

Operas

Hanson wrote three operas: Sun Dance, Bear Dance, and Bleeding Heart, also known as The Heart of Timpanogos. Each of his operas featured ceremonial dances, chants, and costumes inspired by Hanson's experience among Native Americans in Utah. It later played in Salt Lake City and then on Broadway in 1937. It was a collaborative work between Hanson and Gertrude Bonnin, also known as Zitkala-Sa. It consists of five acts depicting the "hopes, disappointments, and beliefs" of Native Americans. The characters in the opera are Sioux, the actual sun dance ritual was historically Lakota, Hanson's contributions were inspired by the Ute people, and Zitkala-Sa herself was Lakota, raised on a Sioux reservation. The opera features a love triangle between a Sioux warrior, a Sioux maiden, and a Shoshone.