| Orenda Press began in 1983 as the entity through which Curt Cacioppo could distinguish and make available in print the music he composed in response to Native American elements. The Press is registered in Pennsylvania, and is a BMI affiliate. Like the Wa-Wan Press of Arthur Farwell, its name derives from American Indian vocabulary. Orenda is a Haudenosaunee word that designates spiritual power, specifically the energy of that “spirit indwelling not only in man but in every living creature and in nature.” Music allows man “to supplement his own power by the addition, or cooperation, of a similar power resident in some other creature or in nature.” (See F. Densmore, The American Indians and Their Music, The Womans Press, NY, 1926, p. 63). With that power comes an attendant wisdom.
Since its inception, and as Cacioppo has more recently taken the publication of his music entirely into his own hands, the Press has expanded its purpose, now serving as the vehicle for the dissemination of his entire catalog. It has issued an inaugural double-disc CD set, ventured into video production under the name Rendao Media, and is beginning to represent fellow composers. For further information, please inquire via email at OrendaPress@protonmail.com.
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Cacioppo’s mentor and collaborator, Navajo spiritual leader John Co’ií Cook, in northern Arizona — their friendship and work together greatly influenced the string quartet cycle WOMB OF THE SACRED MOUNTAINS