Low lying building the desert. A scene from the site specific sound installation, A Wandering Breeze, by Raven Chacon. Photo by Martin D Fowler

Raven Chacon
Spotlight Artist in Residence
Winter 2026

BIOGRAPHY

Raven Chacon is a composer, performer, and installation artist born at Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation. A recording artist over the span of 24 years, Chacon has appeared on over eighty releases on national and international labels. He has exhibited, performed, or had works performed at LACMA, The Whitney Biennial, Borealis Festival, SITE Santa Fe, Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York, and more. As an educator, Chacon is the senior composer mentor for the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP). In 2022, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Voiceless Mass, and in 2023 was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship.

COURSES TAUGHT

Raven Chacon visited UC Davis from February 2-6, 2026. He met with graduate students in individual one-on-one critiques and taught a seminar for thirteen students from Art Studio, Music and Performance Studies. Chacon gave a public lecture on Thursday, February 5, 2026 in the Ann E. Pitzer Center. The talk was co-sponsored by William E. Valente Endowment in the Department of Music. On Friday, Feburary 6, the Gorman Museum of Native American Art hosted a student ensemble from the Department of Music performing Chacon’s American Ledger No. 1 in the museum's courtyard. Chacon also met with radio hosts at the student-run radio station, KDVS.

PUBLIC LECTURE

Chacon gave a public lecture on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. in the Ann E. Pitzer Center. The talk was co-sponsored by William E. Valente Endowment in the Department of Music.

Photos
Raven Chacon gestures while speaking at a podium.
Raven Chacon stands at a podium in a dimly lit auditorium with a large screen behind.
Raven Chacon gestures passionately at a podium, addressing an audience in a darkened auditorium.
Raven Chacon stands at a podium in front of an audience in a lecture hall.
Gorman Museum Faculty Director Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie speaking into a microphone, holding a paper, outdoors in front of an audience.
A crowd gathers outside the Gorman Museum, some seated and others standing, during an event.
Audience gathered outdoors, watching a performance in front of a large backdrop.
A crowd of people watching a performance outdoors under a patterned roof with trees in the background.
A student kneels on the ground, throwing pennies in a cymbal, while others observe nearby.
Three individuals throw pennies, with one kneeling and holding a container.
Musicians playing various instruments outdoors, surrounded by trees and buildings.
Musicians performing outdoors with drums, xylophone, and flute.
Raven Chacon and students engaged in conversation outdoors, surrounded by greenery and trees.
Raven Chacon (seventh from left), and students from Matilda Hofman’s Music 198 class and Chris Froh's percussion ensemble.

 

Banner photo credit:  Raven Chacon, A Wandering Breeze, site specific sound installation. Photo by Martin D. Fowler.