Concert Notes Against the Ban: A Musical Response from the 7
ICCNC: On March 25th in Oakland(ICCNC)
, Aswat Ensemble and ICCNC will sponsor a concert showcasing the music of the 7 countries listed on January 27th's Executive Order.
The beauty of such a concert will lie in expressing the complexity and many cultural layers in the seven countries – Libya, Yemen, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan-- with music acting as an ambassador from these countries to our own. In instrumental music and in vocal pieces with instrumental accompaniment, we will present the different tonal systems/modes and rhythmic structures in the music, which derive from and in turn highlight the countries’ rich cultural, social, religious, and artistic traditions.
They are preparing two pieces of music from each of the seven countries to present in a 2-hour concert. The songs may be religious, secular or folk, but in every case, we are selecting the most-loved, most typical music from each country -- the music that makes people think of home. Meanwhile, translations of each song will be projected on a screen for the audience.
On December 4th, Ensemble and Aswat the Vukani Mawethu Choir along with several other performing artists successfully completed their solidarity concert – Art Against All Odds: Black & Muslim Expressions of Love and Faith. The free event successfully drew an audience of over 600 people with hundreds more on the waiting list. The response from the community was overwhelming and this is why we would like to take this show on the road.