For Your GRAMMY® Consideration

The main title to Courage is a deeply personal composition that fuses cinematic orchestral writing with traditional Indigenous instrumentation and a subtle urban influence. Written for Eric Michael Hernandez’s moving film, the piece tells the story of a young hoop dancer as he rediscovers his heritage and finds empowerment through dance.

To bring this vision to life, I collaborated with the drum group Wild Horse, Native flute player Terry Goedel, and vocalist Abraham Thomas, layering these voices with the richness of symphonic scoring. The result is a soundscape both modern and ancestral — honoring community, culture, and resilience while evoking the emotional journey of self-discovery.

So much heart went into this music, and it was an honor to write a composition that celebrates tradition while opening new paths for contemporary Indigenous storytelling in film.