Hote’ Casella (1909–1990) was an Americanmezzo-soprano andNative American cultural ambassador.^[1][2] She sang throughout the United States and Europe from the 1940s until the early 1980s.^[3][4]

Hote’ Casella was born as Gladys Bland Mathonican Miller in 1909 inSan Angelo,Texas, the youngest of seven children. Casella's Native American name, "Ho-Te-Ma-We," means "mockingbird."^[5][6] Her father, (Andrew) John Mathonican, wasCherokee and worked as a billiards hall manager,^[3] and her mother, Marzella Carter, had Italian and Spanish ancestry.^[7] Casella's family moved toLos Angeles in the early 1920s. She studied atUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) andJuilliard^[3] and trained in Germanlieder and French and Italian music.^[5]

She moved to New York in the 1940s.^[3] Casella's debut New York performance was at Town Hall on February 28, 1944, accompanied by Coenraad V. Bos. She sang traditional operatic selections by composers includingHandel,Francesco Gasparini andGabriel Fauré, as well as Native American music arranged by Troyer, Jeancon and Cadman.^[8] Casella would later appear annually at the venue.^[9]

Throughout the next several decades, Casella performed throughout the country at venues including theAmerican Museum of Natural History, theNational Folk Festival inKnoxville,Tennessee, and theDetroit Institute of Arts. She expanded her repertoire over the years to add more Native American music, including songs by the Cherokee,Navajo,Zuni,Apache,Hopi,Cheyenne,Sioux,Ojibway andChippewa people, most from the 18th and 19th centuries.^[7]

Later in her career, Casella devoted her career to teaching audiences, particularly children, about Native American culture,^[10] and to situating Native American music amid the largerfolk music tradition.^[5] She told the Newspaper Enterprise in 1966 that she wished to do for Native American music whatIgor Moiseyev had done for popularizing and professionalizing Russian folk dances.^[9]

Casella died in 1990.^[3]

• Indian princess
• Mary Stone McLendon

• 1909 births
• 1990 deaths
• American mezzo-sopranos
• Native American singers
• American people of Cherokee descent
• People from San Angelo, Texas
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni
• Juilliard School alumni
• 20th-century Native American people
• 20th-century American musicians
• Native American musicians
• American people of Italian descent
• American people of Spanish descent
• 20th-century American women

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