The Indigenous musician was fatally injured in a car accident on 15 May
The death has been announced of Canadian Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen following a car accident in Northern Alberta on 15 May. She was 45.
According to reports, Derksen was in the passenger seat travelling home after her father’s funeral. Her wife, singer Rebecca Benson, was critically injured in the collision and reportedly remains hospitalised.
Derksen was born in 1981 and grew up on the North Tallcree Reserve in Treaty 8 territory in Alberta, Canada. Her heritage on her father’s side included a lineage of chiefs from the reserve, and Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s side.
Among her accolades, she performed as soloist-composer with 15 different Canadian orchestras and was selected as the composer for the Canadian Pavillion for the World Expo both in Dubai in 2022 and in Osaka in 2025.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2024, performing the commissioned work Controlled Burn with the Orchestre Metropolitan and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In 2026, she wrote Cikilaxwm: Controlled Burn for Ballet Kelowna, working with Indigenous choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe.
Derksen also served as artistic advisor for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, as chair of the equity committee for Orchestras Canada, and founded the Indigenous Classical Gathering at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Her cello quartet First Light, written for the Galvin Cello Quartet, was the Premiere of the Month for The Strad’s July 2025 issue.
Derksen was represented by AIM Booking Agency, who shared the news of her death and paid tribute to her on social media:
‘It is with profound, shattering sadness that we share the news of the sudden passing of our dear friend, client, and visionary artist, Cris Derksen, following a car accident yesterday.
‘To know Cris was to know a force of nature. She was fiercely authentic and deeply generous, and she brought an uncompromising spirit to everything she touched.
‘Her art was a reflection of her soul: poignant, powerful, grounded in heritage, and relentlessly innovative.
‘At AIM, we are devastated by the loss of someone who was so much more than a client – she was family. We extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to her family, loved ones, the Indigenous arts community, and everyone moved by her incredible work.
‘Thank you, Cris, for sharing your light, your fire, and your music with us. You left an indelible mark on this world, and your song will echo in our hearts forever.’
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