Dawn Norfleet, composer. This is part of a composition co-commissioned by Liza Stepanova and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. It premiered at the Music in May Festival in Santa Cruz, CA in 2024. "Tovaangar", from the composer's understanding, loosely translates to "earth" or "territory" in the language of the Tongva, who inhabited the Los Angeles basin for thousands of years. The blues is from the composer's African American musical heritage. She also wanted the title to reflect the Los Angeles area that shaped her. She mentally auditioned the title, "Blues for Earth", but thought it was trite and generic. So, she decided to investigate the question of who inhabited the Los Angeles area before Europeans arrived, and saw that it was the Tongva people. She then looked up the word meaning "earth" or "land" in the Tongva language and saw the term, "tovaangar". She named her composition, "Blues for Tovaangar" in homage to her African American heritage and the earlier caretakers of the land where she grew up and currently resides. Copyright 2025 Dawn Norfleet Music. All Rights Reserved.