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Daniel Bigay

Contact Information Mountain Spirit Flutes
490 Viking Mountain Road
Greeneville, TN 37743
info@msflutes.com
mountainspiritflutes.net

Work Phone: 423-638-5750

Art Forms Visual Arts (2-D & 3-D), Music, Heritage Arts, Educational/Occupational Arts

Specialty Information I'm a Cherokee artist, Native American flute maker and player, and I demonstrate Native American flute making. I also do Native American cultural programs.

About This Artist Daniel Bigay is an Artist, Flute Maker, and Performer/Recording artist. He is an enrolled member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe. Daniel has been creating traditional and contemporary Native American Art for over 25 years. Daniel’s flutes and gourd art have won awards at Native American fine art shows across the country. Daniel’s flutes are played by many nationally known Native American recording artists, and his flutes and art pieces are in museums and private collections all around the world. As a performer Daniel has two Native American Flute CD’s that have been nationally released. The most recent release received a nomination for best flute recording at the 2005 Indian Summer Music Awards. Daniel has performed flute music and demonstrated flute making and gourd carving at powwows, art shows, and cultural festivals across the country. “As a flute maker, I began by making traditional Rivercane flutes, and later making flutes out of the many different woods that are native to the area we live. I then started to incorporate inlayed stone, shell and metal into my wooden flutes. The designs I use mainly come from ancient Mississippian designs that are unique to tribes in the Southeast. I also draw inspiration from our traditional Cherokee stories, and I sometimes depict scenes from these stories in my inlay designs and carvings.”“I believe that the Native American Indian flute is one of the most unique and beautiful sounding instruments in the world. Native flutes are one of the oldest instruments on earth. They have been a part of Cherokee and other southeastern Indian culture dating back to ancient times. One of the things I love the most about flute making is continuing an art form that is rooted so far into the past. For me, making flutes is a way of preserving and continuing our culture, and honoring the ancestors that gave us this beautiful instrument. Being a flute player as well as a maker, I strive to make a beautiful sounding flute that plays well, as well as being a piece of art.” Daniel and his wife, Kay live in the Smoky Mountain area in Eastern Tennessee, where they are full time artists.

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Daniel Bigay