Ofi’ Tohbi’ Ishto’ and the Chickasaw Clan Animals: Six Early Elementary/Elementary Level Piano Solos

Meet Ofi’ Tohbi’ and his friends through six early elementary to elementary level piano solos. Written and composed by W. T. Skye Garcia, and illustrated by Sarah A. Gilmore Garcia, these imaginative songs highlight Chickasaw culture for pianists of all ages. Songs include: Ofi’ Tohbi’ Ishto’, Shawi’, Chapchap, Issi’, Koni, Hacho’chaba

W. T. Skye Garcia is a retired instructor of music at East Central University (ECU), where for thirty-four years he taught piano, piano pedagogy, composition, music theory, and sacred music. He currently maintains a private piano studio and serves as a piano instructor for the Chickasaw Nation School of Music in Ada, Oklahoma. More than fifty of his piano solos and seven of his books for piano have been published by the Alfred and FJH Publishing companies. Skye was chosen as the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association’s 2005 Commissioned Composer, and in 2006, his Oklahoma Centennial Suite for Band was honored by the State of Oklahoma as an Official Centennial Project. Skye has taught seven Lynn Freeman Olson National Composition Award winners, one Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) national winner, and one National Federation of Music Clubs national runner-up. He was honored as an MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2010, and in 2014, he received a DaVinci Fellow Award which recognizes creativity among Oklahoma’s higher education faculty. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University, a master of church music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a master of music from Hardin-Simmons University. Sarah Angeline Gilmore Garcia is a Chickasaw citizen also of Muscogee (Creek) lineage. She bears the name of her grandmother who was an original Chickasaw enrollee. Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with early childhood certification and a minor in fine arts from East Central University. She retired from ECU after working as a dean’s secretary in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences for thirty-four years. Sarah’s hobbies, schooling, and work experience have always included the arts in some form or fashion, whether it be painting, calligraphy, graphic design, video production, photography, crafting, or most recently, pottery, sculpture, and digital art. In 2012, Sarah and her husband Skye received the Outstanding Adan in the Arts award presented by the Ada Arts Council. A poet, pianist, and vocalist, Sarah continues to pursue her passion for art in Ada, Oklahoma. Zach Garcia is a Chickasaw citizen and a classical pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He served as the producer and consultant for Ofi’ Tohbi’ Ishto’ and the Chickasaw Clan Animals. He holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal music education from East Central University and a master’s in music composition from Oklahoma City University. Currently, Zach serves as a performing arts programming coordinator for the Chickasaw Nation.