WSU Professor Awarded National Native Arts Fellowship

Jacqueline Wilson selected for yearlong program supporting creative growth in music, dance, theater, and live performance.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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Jacqueline Wilson, an assistant professor of music at Washington State University, has been named a 2026 Native Performing Arts Fellow by First Peoples Fund. The fellowship includes a $10,000 grant and professional development support, and will allow Wilson to focus on integrating her Yakama cultural identity into her performance and teaching.

Why it matters

The fellowship provides an opportunity for Wilson, a bassoonist who often features Native composers, to shift her focus from fitting Indigenous music into existing frameworks to centering her cultural identity in her work. This aligns with growing efforts to amplify contemporary Native voices in classical music.

The details

As part of the fellowship, Wilson will spend the year immersed in Yakama stories, history, and values, studying writings by elders and reflecting on how music and performance can help carry those traditions forward. She is also interested in exploring how performance can be a way of sharing and sustaining those stories.

  • Wilson was named a 2026 Native Performing Arts Fellow by First Peoples Fund.
  • This spring, Wilson will perform a bassoon concerto written for her by Navajo composer Connor Chee with the Poulsbo Symphony on April 12.

The players

Jacqueline Wilson

An assistant professor of music at Washington State University and a member of the Yakama Nation. She has been named a 2026 Native Performing Arts Fellow by First Peoples Fund.

First Peoples Fund

A national organization that supports the creative growth of Native artists through fellowships and other programs.

Connor Chee

A Navajo composer who has written a bassoon concerto for Jacqueline Wilson.

Poulsbo Symphony

An orchestra that will perform the bassoon concerto written by Connor Chee and featuring Jacqueline Wilson as the soloist.

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What they’re saying

“So much funding is built around proving what you'll produce. This was about where you want to grow, what obstacles you're facing, and how you want to move forward as an artist.”

— Jacqueline Wilson, Assistant Professor of Music, Washington State University (dailyfly.com)

“I'm interested in asking how performance can be a way of sharing and sustaining those stories. And how my work can be more grounded in who I am and where I come from.”

— Jacqueline Wilson, Assistant Professor of Music, Washington State University (dailyfly.com)

What’s next

This spring, Wilson will perform the bassoon concerto written for her by Navajo composer Connor Chee with the Poulsbo Symphony on April 12.

The takeaway

The fellowship provides an opportunity for Wilson to integrate her Yakama cultural identity more deeply into her performance and teaching, aligning with growing efforts to amplify contemporary Native voices in classical music.