Unity Through Music

One of my most vivid childhood memories involves joining hands and voices with 500 international singers in Florence, Italy’s Pitti Palace under the direction of the electric Doreen Rao. Our 500-voice children’s choir truly made a joyful noise as we swayed back and forth to the soulful strains of the Zulu hymn, “Siyahamba” (“We Are Marching”). A musical moment like this somehow unifies people—no matter how separate their backgrounds—in a way that little else can.

We are replicating that experience at Sweet Soul this session. Not only have our campers learned the words and three-part harmony for “Siyahamba”—no easy feat since the song is a cappella!—but they are also coupling movement with song, and they are beginning to explore what it really means to shape a musical phrase. As part of this process, the children have mastered a bit of Zulu (“Siyahamba kukenyene kwenkos”) and some musically-relevant Italian as well! They recognize the names of the dynamic markings all the way from pianissimo to fortissimo, and they are learning to follow tempo changes as indicated by a conductor.

I love watching the understanding that dawns in the face of each child when all of these elements (harmony, rhythm, dynamics, tempo) come together to create so much more than the sum of their parts. With everything in place technically, enthusiasm and a sheer love of song can bring the music to life…just as they did for me over a decade ago in that magical moment at the Pitti Palace. And if music is more than the sum of its parts, then we as singers are more than the sum of our parts when we join together in song. That’s part of the joy of music-making.

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And now for a few "funnies:"

• Max (age 4): Why are you a girl?
• Erica: Why are you a boy?
• Max: Cause that's how my parents BORNED me!!

My prim 14-yr-old voice student: "My throat starts to hurt when I'm belching out the high notes. . ." (She meant "belting." I hope.)

My 4-yr-old British student: "Where'd you put my hair ties?!? Mum says we haven't got loads of hair ties. . .although we *have* got loads of money. . ." (I'd trade in my hair ties for money any day!)

My 5-yr-old student to her mom: "Erica sings and wears make-up and jewelry and stuff. . .so she *might* be famous!" If only I'd known sooner that make-up and jewelry are all it takes. . . ;-)

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Also, for the information any interested blog-followers, I am still transcribing for Charles Strouse, attending Brodway shows, and having all sorts of grand New York adventures--I just haven't had time to write about them yet! Watch for updates next week. . .