With the current number of prospective freshmen touring campus, it's not hard to overhear a student guide claiming that Tufts' international character extends well beyond the classroom. This weekend will offer proof of that statement.
This Saturday, Tufts hosts its fifth intercollegiate Festival of African Music and Arts. The festival will showcase the musical talents of several collegiate groups and visiting artists, offer a number of interactive workshops, and create an indoor African Street Bazaar in the Granoff Music Center.
According to Tufts Professor David Locke, the director of Kiniwe, the African music and dance ensemble, the festival demonstrates Tufts' position as a leader in the educational community and can help other schools learn about ways to augment their own music programs.
"Tufts values its leadership position in many fields, and one field in which we are a leader in the world model is in the inclusiveness of our music program," Locke said. "This festival helps other schools realize that it's a good thing to have international music and dance in their curriculum. It encourages faculty and students at every university to keep on keeping on with what they're doing as far as trying to integrate their programs."
Part one of the festival will be a Tufts Music Colloquium on Agbadza, a traditional type of music from Ghana and Tongo, lasting from 12:30 p.m. until 1:45 p.m. Professors Andrew Clark and Locke, in addition to James Burns from State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton and composer Rebecca Sacks (LA '05) will speak on Agbadza as performed by an American chorus, analyze the genre, and talk about ways to incorporate the style into new compositions. The colloquium will be held in the Varis Lecture Hall of the Granoff Music Center.
Part two will feature interactive workshops. From 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Nukporfe Dance-Drumming Ensemble from SUNY Binghamton, Kiniwe and the Tufts Chorale will hold interactive sessions in Jackson Dance Lab. Both the colloquium and the workshops are free and open to the public.
An indoor African Street Bazaar will comprise part three. The bazaar will be held in Granoff and will feature art vendors, African volunteer and
educational organizations, and a light, traditional African dinner. Admission to the bazaar is free, but there will be a small charge for food.
Locke credits the African Students Organization (ASO) for the festival's layout, noting that members played an especially important part in organizing vendors for the bazaar. He says ASO has "really been enormously important in the design of this year's festival and doing the work to make this a success."
The final part of the festival, beginning at 8 p.m. in Distler Performance Hall, will feature 30-minute performances by Kiniwe, the Tufts Chorale and the Nukporfe Dance-Drumming Ensemble. According to Locke, one highlight of Kiniwe's performance will be a talking drum piece inspired by a visiting artist from northern Ghana, who is "sort of a legendary expert." The Tufts Chorale will sing traditional African songs. In addition, Kiniwe and the Chorale will team up to perform the world premiere of "Dzidefo!," an Agbadza work composed by Sacks.
"Rebecca has done something extraordinary," said Clark, director of the Tufts Chorale. "It's a synthesis of both Agbadzah style, which is from Ghana and West Africa, and European classical music."
This will be the first year that the Chorale has participated in the festival. Since September, they have been learning a different skill set, particularly a different rhythmic style, that will allow them to better perform African pieces. Clark said that learning a different style of music, though challenging, is ultimately rewarding.
"First and foremost, [African music] is a visceral experience," Clark said. "There's this tremendous energy and vitality to music that is unique, I feel, in the landscape of music around the world. It's also interesting to find the things that are common to all types of music, what unifies it, what shows how we're all the same."
Locke agrees that African music is unique for its social and celebratory qualities. "African music conveys a great joy in being alive," he said. "It expresses a sort of strength in community. It's an affirmation of life."
Tickets to the final performance are $5, and the dinner at the bazaar can be included for $8.
