T. Patrick Carrabré is a Métis composer living in Vancouver. Construction of identity and community engagement are long-term themes in his compositions, artistic programming, and administrative activities. His best known works include Inuit Games, for katajjak (throat singers) and orchestra, which was a recommended work at the International Rostrum of Composers (2003), Sonata No. 1, The Penitent, for violin and piano, and From the Dark Reaches, which were nominated for JUNO awards. In 2021 he was recognized with a second Western Canadian Music Award (Classical Composer of the Year) for the album, 100,000 Lakes. Other recent work includes Histoires des Métis: the Freedom Songs, commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir and Snewíyalh tl’a Staḵw (Teachings of the Water), written in collaboration with the Elektra Women’s Choir. Orpheus (1), was released on the Centredisc label in March 2023 and and EP of Métis Songs was released in September 2024 on Winter Wind Records.

Watch “Red River,” Sonata for Cello and Piano

Watch Decolonizing My Creative Process: Embracing Indigeneity

Watch Snewíyalh tl’a Staḵw (Teachings of the Water)

A bit more about me:

I was born in Winnipeg. Although I have been known as Pat Carrabré for most of my life, my name at birth was Ronald Joseph Nault. My other Métis family names include Bruneau, Elémond, Racette, Landry and Lagimodière. These names all have deep roots in the unique Indigenous culture that developed in the Red River region, before it became Manitoba, a province in what is now known as Canada. My people have been known as Bois-Brûlé (burnt wood) and more recently as Métis. I am a survivor of the 60s Scoop, the mass removal of Indigenous children into the Canadian child welfare system. Along the way, I have been processed and refined through the colonial education system, studying the practices of western art and music. But since being reclaimed by my community, I have embarked on a voyage of unlearning, trying to craft an identity that reflects the complexity of my personal truth.