Education Program Performances

Overview

Each MUUS program is one hour long. The venue is Slosberg Recital Hall, on the Brandeis campus. Performances are geared to the appropriate age level and are of the highest quality. The aim of these programs is to explore meaningful historical and social perspectives of different cultures through the unique autobiographical narrative voice of music. Programs are carefully chosen according to the following guidelines: Diversity, authenticity, quality, school curriculum, budget, and availability of performers. Cooperating teachers teach lessons related to the historical and social aspects of the cultures represented in the music programs. These lessons in the classroom precede the concerts. (See sample lesson plans.) Prepared recorded selections previewing the concerts are provided by MUUS and distributed to the classroom teachers.

2007-2008 Performances

The 2007-2008 MusicUnitesUS Education Program offers three very distinctive programs, Ologundê, the Lydian String Quartet, and Chinese Modulations and/or the Brandeis Theater production of Orphan of Zhao.

Ologundê
Afro-Brazilian Music & Dance
October, 2007 (lesson plans)

“…their daring gestures drew gasps from the audience” - Dayton Daily News

“When Ologundê members perform, color, clamor and captivation are the order of the day.” - Santa Fe New Mexican

The New York-based Ologundê ensemble celebrates the rich Afro-Brazilian culture of Salvador, Bahia through a diverse repertoire of music, dance and martial arts. Comprised of Brazilians living in the United States and Brazil, includes former members of world-renowned music and dance troupes and is under the direction of noted percussionist Dendê from the famed Timbalada band. The ensemble has performed throughout the US since its formation in 2002 and toured Greece as part of the Cultural Olympiad, appearing at the Kalamata Dance Festival and at the Athens Festival at the Acropolis.

Ologundê, which ranges from 8-15 members, performs a diverse repertoire which includes the rituals associated with candomblé, a synthesis of the Yoruba and Catholic religions in which various orixás (gods) are invoked; the breathtaking capoeira martial arts dance; maculêlê, a warrior dance which utilizes sticks and machetes and was originally created in the sugar cane fields by slaves; and the exhilarating samba de roda, which can be traced back to the semba of Angola.

More on the Performance
See Ologundê Video

Lydian String Quartet
Immigration in the United States
February, 2008 (lesson plans)

The Lydian String Quartet is Brandeis University's internationally acclaimed quartet-in-residence since 1980. The Lydian String Quartet has concertized throughout the United States and Europe. The Lydian String Quartet will present a MusicUnitesUS program that reinforces the 4th grade history and social science curriculum that will include topics such as A Nation of Many People, Immigration, and Communities. The focus will be diverse traditions major immigrant groups have brought to the United States through music. What songs did they bring? What values and world views are represented through the music? What did these new immigrants leave behind? In this unique presentation of music through the lens of the string quartet (with its own Eurocentric tradition), students will hear many of the voices that make up this country's soundscape of multiculturalism.

www.brandeis.edu/departments/music/lydian.htm

Jiebing Chen and Yangqin Zhao
Chinese Modulations
March, 2008 (lesson plans)

Jiebing Chen, erhu (2-string vertical violin) and Yangqin Zhao, yangqin (hammered dulcimer), offer a program that ranges from the Chinese classical repertory to cross-cultural explorations spanning time and place. Both artists, whose musical narratives begin in their native China, have successfully extended the boundaries of their traditions with technical innovation and stylistic virtuosity. Chen and Zhao have lived in the United States for the last 15 years.

Orphan of Zhao
An original theatrical adaption of the traditional Chinese tale.
April, 2008 (lesson plans)

The Orphan of Zhao covers three centuries of struggle for power during the mythological period between 800 BCE - 500 BCE in china. This adaption will focus on the climactic moments of this epic tale of the struggle for power between the ruthless Tu Ango and Zhao Dun, a loyal general to the Emperor Jin. Sacrifice and relentless determination in the face of overwhelming odds characterize this highly stylized piece.

Thie Brandeis Theater Company production will feature an original dramatic text by Mia Chung and original music by Brandeis composer Yu-Hui Chang. The music will be recorded by noted Chinese musicians Jiebing Chen and Yangqin Zhao, in collaboration with Lydian String Quartet’s violist Mary Ruth Ray and cellist Joshua Gordon.

Please see Brandeis Theater Company for more information on the play and tickets.

2006-2007 Performances

The 2006-2007 MusicUnitesUS Education Program offers three very distinctive musical programs, the Kayhan Kalhor & Erdal Erzincan, the Lydian String Quartet, and Amazones. These three musical ensembles gave three public school education programs that brought over 1,000 students to Brandeis.

Persian & Turkish Improvisations: Kayhan Kalhor & Erdal Erzincan
October 19 - 21, 2006 (lesson plans)

This duo brings together the music of two cultures that have much in common -- the Persian classical tradition and the Turkish Sufi (Alevi) tradition. The duets, which meld seamlessly, are performed on Persian kamancheh (spike fiddle) and on the Turkish baglama, (a lute sometimes known as the saz) to astonishing effect. Kayhan Kalhor, born in Tehran, Iran has composed works for Iran's most renowned vocalists, including Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri and has performed and recorded with many of Iran's greatest artists. His recent commissions include works written for the Kronos Quartet and for Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. In 2003, he was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Erdal Erzincan is an exceptional musician, and disciple of Turkey's greatest virtuosos of the baglama, Arif Sag. A highly respected artist who started his own Baglama Music Academy in Istanbul, Erzincan has performed throughout the world. He is a brilliant improviser, which makes him an ideal musical companion for Kalhor. The duo will present a program that reinforces the 7th grade history and social science curriculum.

Lydian String Quartet
Immigration in the United States
Spring 2007 (lesson plans)

The Lydian String Quartet is Brandeis University's internationally acclaimed quartet-in-residence since 1980. The Lydian String Quartet has concertized throughout the United States and Europe. The Lydian String Quartet will present a MusicUnitesUS program that reinforces the 4th grade history and social science curriculum that will include topics such as A Nation of Many People, Immigration, and Communities. The focus will be diverse traditions major immigrant groups have brought to the United States through music. What songs did they bring? What values and world views are represented through the music? What did these new immigrants leave behind? In this unique presentation of music through the lens of the string quartet (with its own Eurocentric tradition), students will hear many of the voices that make up this country's soundscape of multiculturalism.

www.brandeis.edu/departments/music/lydian.htm

Amazones: Women Master Drummers of Guinea
March 2007 (lesson plans)

A concert of dynamic West African drumming, song, and dance, this program has been hailed by critics as “a heavenly outpouring of throbbing jubilation, forceful uplifting beats, and pounding enthusiasm that is hypnotic.” Amazones was the name given to the warrior women of the ancient kingdom of Dahomey (now called Benin) in honor of their ferocity against slave traders, which recalled the mythological Greek Amazones. The celebrated artists from Guinea have reclaimed their own musical heritage by mastering the djembe – the traditional drum historically forbidden to women – and also work to achieve economic self-sufficiency in a developing nation. This program, designed for 8th grade level, introduces students to West African traditions of drumming, dance, and story-telling. Participating schools are provided with a MusicUnitesUS lesson plan that teaches about history and culture and invites students to employ critical thinking skills as they explore issues of social justice.

2005-2006 Performances

The 2005-2006 MusicUnitesUS Education Program offered three very distinctive musical groups, the Yuval Ron Ensemble, the Lydian String Quartet, and Sol y Canto. These three musical ensembles gave three public school education programs that brought over 1,000 students to Brandeis.

Yuval Ron Ensemble
Spiritual traditions in the Middle East
October 2005 (lesson plans)

The Yuval Ron Ensemble is a collaboration of musicians from Arab, Israeli, and Armenian origins who unite the sacred musical traditions of Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition), Judaism and the Christian Armenian Church. Their performance imparts the ancient and deep intercultural connection among these traditions and the musical influences they share. Their mission and this residency are framed around a mission of peace and reconciliation. The Yuval Ron Ensemble will present a program that reinforces the 8th grade history and social science curriculum.

Lydian String Quartet
Immigration in the United States
December 2005 (lesson plans)

The Lydian String Quartet is Brandeis University's internationally acclaimed quartet-in-residence since 1980. The Lydian String Quartet has concertized throughout the United States and Europe. The Lydian String Quartet will present a MusicUnitesUS program that reinforces the 4th grade history and social science curriculum that will include topics such as A Nation of Many People, Immigration, and Communities. The focus will be diverse traditions major immigrant groups have brought to the United States through music. What songs did they bring? What values and world views are represented through the music? What did these new immigrants leave behind? In this unique presentation of music through the lens of the string quartet (with its own Eurocentric tradition), students will hear many of the voices that make up this country's soundscape of multiculturalism.

www.brandeis.edu/departments/music/lydian.htm

Sol y Canto
Songs of Struggle - The Nueva Canción Tradition of Latin America
February 2006 (lesson plans)

Sol y Canto will perform the music and songs from the nueva canción (new songs) movement of Latin America. Nueva Canción arose in the 1960's in response to social struggle engulfing a continent largely ruled by dictatorships. It combined indigenous musical elements with lyrics addressing questions of justice, freedom, and human rights. Illustrating the importance of cultural memory to identity and the power of art as a tool of resistance, this residency speaks to issues of political and personal freedom through the oral history tradition music provides. Sol y Canto will present a program that reinforces 9th grade history and social science curriculum.

2004-2005 Performances

In 2004-2005, more than 1,000 Waltham public school students came to Brandeis University to take part in MusicUnitesUS programs.

Civil Rights: Songs of Hope and Struggle
October 18, 2004

African-American singer, songwriter, and educator Jane Sapp collaborated with South African artist, musician, and educator Stompie Selibe in a program of freedom songs that speak out against inequality, racism, and injustice. With words that express courage and dreams, anger and hurt, strength and hope, this music inspired and united oppressed people, accompanying them in their long march toward freedom. Lessons drawn from the MUUS Unit on the American Civil Rights Movement and the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement preceded this program. For the 4th grade.

Jane Sapp (Mel King Fellow at MIT, Director of Voices of Today), African-American educator, musician, performer, and songwriter has made a career as an activist in civil rights and community organizing. She has worked for the past twenty-five years to develop techniques that help the silenced find their voices through the arts.

Stompie Selibe is a South African artist, musician, and art educator. He is deeply committed to empowering disadvantaged individuals and communities in South Africa, and has been involved in several South African outreach programs in the areas of education, health, and poverty relief. His work in Africa promotes reconciliation in divided communities through African drumming, music, and song.

Orchid Ensemble: Music From the Silk Road
October 20 – 21, 2004

The exquisite Orchid Ensemble blends ancient Chinese musical traditions with contemporary New Music and Jazz. This program explores the vast cultural influences of the Silk Road through original works inspired by Persian, Indian, and Jewish music. Whether painting musical landscapes of the vast Taklimakan desert, awesome mountain ranges, and endless steppes; or telling the stories of the many people who lived along the ancient pathways of cultural exchange, Orchid Ensemble is “a flawless bridge between Eastern and Western traditions, a musical adventure on the Silk road.” Lessons drawn from the MUUS unit on The Ancient Silk Road preceded this program. For the 7th grade.

In conjunction with the Orchid Ensemble program, students visited The Rose Art Museum to view and hear a short talk on a related exhibit: Yun-fei Ji: The Empty City. Yun-fei Ji’s graceful murals depict the social, political, and environmental effects of China’s construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Ji’s visual storytelling illustrates the failure of modernist utopian ideas in China. It is an historic and prophetic view of the people and traditions of the Yangtze River Valley. This exhibit provides a modern perspective on the pros and cons on cultural exchange, modernization, and globalization.

Peru Negro: Cultural Ambassadors of Black Peru
March 8 – 9, 2005

The vibrant Peru Negro has been embraced around the globe as the official “Ambassadors of Peruvian Culture”. Featuring dazzling dances, colorful costumes, electrifying rhythms, and historic verses, this thrilling 26-member ensemble performs music originated in the slave trade of colonial Peru and passed down through generations. MUUS programs are in workshop format, inviting student participation. The lesson plan provided by MUUS surveys history as well as the concept of cultural identity. For the 5th grade.

2003-2004 Performances

Lydian String Quartet
October 2003

The first program featured the critically acclaimed Lydian String Quartet, quartet in residence at Brandeis University since 1980. The LSQ presented a program of music from the Western World, including music from the early United States, Argentina, Western Europe and Russia. A central theme threaded through this program was the claim to national independence and personal freedom. Students traveled forward in time from the American Revolution through the growing movement toward nationalism in Western Europe in the 19th century, to Stalinist Russia, then back to the USA for a perspective of Civil Rights in the first half of the 20th Century. A variety of classroom social studies lessons preceded the performance.

www.brandeis.edu/departments/music/lydian.htm

Africa
November 2003

The second program featured three musicians from Africa, in conjunction with the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence at Brandeis University. Nicholas Kotei Djanie, Ghanaian master drummer, dancer, teacher, and performer from Johannesburg, SA, Lena Slachmuijlder, radio and print journalist, and musician from Bujumbura, Burundi, and Daniel ‘Stompie’ Selibe, artist, musician, and art educator of South Africa were the three the visiting fellows who performed. Their work in Africa promotes reconciliation in divided communities through African drumming, music, and song. Lesson plans preceding this program included a history of Nelson Mandela and the fight against Apartheid in South Africa.

Peru Negro
February 2004

The final program featured Perú Negro, internationally renowned cultural ambassadors of Black Peru. This 22 -member troupe of singers, dancers, and musicians tell the story through music of a unique redefined culture that emerged from the history of forced immigration (slavery) from Africa to Peru, the ensuing repression by Spanish colonialism, and liberation.. Lesson plans survey history as well as the concept of cultural identity.