Make It Funky!

Well, the concert happened. My review:

 

• Was it spectacular? 

Yes, it was. 

 

• Did the kids make fabulous music while being relaxed and clearly having fun? 

Yes, they did.

 

• Was the whole spectrum of Orff Schulwerk showcased? Body percussion, speech pieces, children's games, folk dance, expressive movement, drama, costumes, Orff instruments, percussion, recorders, choral singing?

Yes, it was and almost all of the above integrated into each and every piece.

 

• Did the audience love it?

Yes, they did. And not only because of their good instinct to celebrate children, but from their authentic enjoyment of excellent music and dance well-performed.

 

• Did the teachers model a perfect blend of helping children learn how to respectfully focus and be serious with a caring and playful approach that also let them be kids?

Yes, they did.

• Was cultural diversity honored, not as a contrived “trip around the world” theme, but simply as a way to both expand the very definition of music by exploring many styles and acknowledging the beauty of each culture’s contribution?

Yes, it was. Pieces from Japan, France, India, Brazil, Liberia and American jazz. (Almost every continent!)

 

• Did kids, parents, teachers, school administrators and others leave the theater glowing with happiness?

• Yes, they did. 

 

My own life’s path that took a surprising twist to include me in this memorable experience is a story in itself. To be told later (or not). Meanwhile, I’ll end by sharing my little introductory talk before the kids performed my arrangement of a Black children’s game, Humpty Dump. 

 

My mother taught me it’s always polite to thank the people who have gifted you with something beautiful and important. In that spirit, I’d like to thank Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman for their extraordinary vision in making music education fun, effective and such a beautiful way for children to feel like they matter, like they have something important to express, like they—without exception— belong to the band. I thank my teacher Avon Gillespie for setting me down this marvelous path. Back when I met him in 1972, he was one of only a very few Black Orff teachers and I know he would be thrilled to witness what’s happening here on this stage. I’d like to thank Nancy Ferguson for both her dedicated work in helping found this concert series and for her pioneering work in bringing American jazz into a repertoire developed by German composers and adapted to mostly English material. 

 

I’d like to thank the entire legacy of musicians from the African diaspora, torn from their homeland, but never losing touch with their deep-rooted mother culture. They were forced to adapt to a wholly foreign and brutal culture that tried to erase their identity, but never could. Instead, everything these new African Americans touched was transformed into gold. When they sang an English hymn, their alchemical touch changed it to a Spiritual. When they tried their hand (and feet) at  ballroom dancing, it burst into the joyful Lindy Hop dance. When they had access to European instruments, the way they played them and what they played was something new under the sun that brought light and warmth to all who listened. When they sang their sorrow-songs out in the fields, they grew into the Blues, that powerful musical form that forever changed the American musical landscape. I think folks in Memphis know something about that! 

 

So here we’re going to take the European practice of the Orff approach, use some English Mother Goose rhymes and in a uniquely American way, make them funky!!! Humpty Dumpty will never be the same! Enjoy!