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> educational programs
educational programs
|  | | | Sekou Sylla, Tony Vacca & Steve Leicach |
What is "cultural diversity" and how do we address it within the educational system? Beyond just identifying the concept of diversity, how do we recognize our differences while building our community? In many ways music is the perfect medium for demonstrating and transcending differences, and formulating a context for communication. In this series of programs, each artist uses their musical skills, their experience as performers and educators, and cultural/ethnic points of reference, to demonstrate the traditional origins, as well as contemporary applications of their music. The resulting confluence of traditions creates new directions in sound and acts as a model of how diversity fuels the fire of change.
World Rhythms offers several educational programs in schools. These include concert assemblies and challenging hands-on workshops, a touring concert ensemble, and a special program that combines both of these formats. Participating musicians come from all over the world with a wide variety of experiences as performers and educators. World Rhythms commitment to diversity and multiculturalism is evident in the music created as well as through the physical and instrumental makeup of the group. The healing and unifying power of this music is the driving force behind all the work we do, and all the programs we offer.
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Senegal-America Project
Of special interest is our Senegal-America Project, bringing Senegalese and American performers together for concerts and workshops that focus on the common ground and cultural treasures, peoples, and cultures of Senegal and America.
Tony Vacca's World Rhythms programs offer everything from one day visits to five day residencies, complete with evening community concerts involving students and faculty. The groups can vary from solo to quintet, or in the case of the Senegal-America Project, can include an entire troupe from Senegal, West Africa. These programs can be and should be specifically designed to fit the needs of students, faculty, and curriculum.
Typical Applications Could Include:
World Music: The concept of playing from more than one musical cultural perspective at once. Looking at and demonstrating combinations of genres, instruments and languages.
Math: The complex polyrhythms played involve practical knowledge of math and geometry. Both principles are used to create a chart form which students learn to read and play these patterns.
English: Working with and performing poetry or rhythm poetry.
Social Studies: Discussing and demonstrating the confluence of cultures at work in America that shape our music and reflect who we are.
History: The impact of West African culture on American language, thought and music. |
TONY VACCA and MASSAMBA DIOP
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School presentations include:
TONY VACCA and MASSAMBA DIOP: Rhythm Griots
Rhythm Griots (pronounced gree-oes) translates into English as "rhythm storytellers," and rhythm is the common ground shared by Massamba Diop and Tony Vacca. Their music is a living, contemporary link between the traditions of West Africa and America. They blend the fiery Wolof drumming of Senegal's famous tama drummer, Massamba Diop, with the percussion spectacle of Tony Vacca's hard-hitting fusion of Jazz, Spoken Word, and World Music.
Tony Vacca is an innovative American-born percussionist whose music incorporates giant West African xylophones, an incredible collection of over twenty Paiste gongs, hand-drums, and a unique drum set/percussion unit. The range of his work could be summarized by the fact that he has performed and/or recorded with pop icon Sting, Senegalese Afro-Pop star Baaba Maal, Jazz and World Music legend Don Cherry, and the Senegalese hip-hop troupe called Gokh-bi System.
Massamba Diop is internationally recognized as one of the all time masters of the tama drum. He is an extraordinary performer, as well as a knowledgeable and generous teacher. He is one of the original members of Baaba Maal's world famous band, and has performed with Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, and Carlos Santana.
Together their performances are a spectacular display of rhythm and a world of percussion, demonstrating the power of cross-cultural collaboration. They have created flexible, cohesive, and extraordinary presentations by virtue of their generous commitment to the music and to each other. And it shows. In performance or in hands-on workshops, they convey their expertise, their reverence of tradition and innovation, and a profound respect for their audience.
If you like contrasts, then you'll see that their collaboration incorporates and transcends Black and White, Christian and Muslim, ancient and contemporary, African and American. But most of all these two musicians are friends; you can see it, you can hear it, and you can feel it. Just like their friendship, their music is built upon mutual respect and appreciation. The result is this meeting of two mindful, soulful, world-class performers; two rhythm griots meeting on the common ground of rhythm and storytelling. |
School Programs
SCHOOL PROGRAMS usually include one or more of the following:
WORKSHOPS:
MULTI-CULTI RHYTHM ENSEMBLE (Tony Vacca)
In this "hands-on" session, Tony will apply over thirty years of experience as a drummer/composer, and over a dozen trips to West Africa, to create and teach a percussion composition. He'll use djembe drums, gongs, rattles, an orchestra of tuned bells, and a wide variety of other percussion instruments. Students will learn call-and-response phrases and chants, and then learn several signals in order to play five sections within this composition. These pieces involve combinations of rhythms that connect African, Caribbean and American traditions. This ensemble will be able to perform what they've learned for their peers in a concert setting as part of their preparation. Approximately one hour. All instruments provided.
MASSAMBA DIOP, TAMA DOCTOR (Massamba Diop)
Massamba hosts an open discussion with students and faculty about life in Senegal, and the importance of the music of the tama drum. He will demonstrate his amazing playing techniques, and discuss the cultural/religious importance and meaning of some of the many rhythms he plays. Approximately one hour.
RHYTHM WORD DRUM (Tony Vacca)
Tony demonstrates how he creates and assembles his music and poetry. Then, through a series of activities, students collectively create a group spoken word piece, and collaborate with Tony to shape the musical accompaniment. Students are also encouraged to bring poetry they've written, and to be prepared to not only read it, but to perform it with the group. (This is usually a ninety-minute session.)
CONCERT PERFORMANCES (Tony Vacca and Massamba Diop)
Tony Vacca and Massamba Diop perform from their repertoire of songs, using a world of percussion instruments that include talking drums, balafons, drum set, and gongs. There's a lot of audience participation and usually one of the workshop groups performs one song with them. Concerts can be from 45 minutes to two hours, but are usually about one hour long.
Prices for school days are usually as follows:
Full Day: $1500 This provides for up to four sessions of concerts and workshops in any combination. Two additional workshops can be had if Massamba presents his own workshops in a separate space, running simultaneously with Tony's presentations.
Half Day: $1000. Half days are usually only done after a full day at the same location.
Evening community concerts for schools on the evening of full day presentations are also $1000.
Costs include sound system and all instruments necessary for workshop programs, unless the group has to fly to the location.
We suggest building a day of activities that fit your specific needs, and getting the performers and faculty involved in the planning. Evening concerts are especially popular; they give the entire community a chance to support and be part of what's going on in the school, and have a great time in the process
Feel free to call or contact:
World Rhythms P.O. Box 1172 Northampton, MA 01061-1172
phone:(413) 665-1067; www.tonyvacca.com; tonyvacca@comcast.net
Once we've discussed how to shape the program, we'll have you work with Ms. Jean Butler, who books and arranges our work in schools. Her contact info is: Phone: 978 263-0101; email: Jean@arts-are-essential.org. |
Workshops
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Over the past fifteen years, Tony has developed workshop programs that include master classes and percussion residencies. He also offers in-school presentations that include concerts, a comprehensive variety of "hands-on" workshops for students, and professional development for faculty.
"A lifetime career in the realm of World Music and Jazz has taught me the value of having mentors and role models. There were many of them in my life: from my first drum instructor, to the many drummers I've met and worked with around the world, to the more famous names like Don Cherry and Baaba Maal. Their generosity was a lesson to me, and now I've made sure to return the favor by working with young students in a variety of settings; from in-school to after school, to summer camps.and from elementary to high school levels, and especially middle schools."
"When I do workshops with them, it's always a 'hands-on' experience. The instruments they use in all of these workshops are my concert instruments. I want to affirm to them that what they are doing matters, and the best way to do that is to give them the best tools to work with. So of course it follows that when I perform for them, it's got to be the best I've got. I know they listen to a ton of music, so I want to offer them something that excites them, and that challenges them to listen in a new way. They clearly get that what I am doing is way out of the ordinary, but they just as quickly get that it involves things that are familiar to them as well. When we collaborate, it's a laboratory of ideas, in which we are all teachers and learners. I genuinely dig it, and the students can see and feel that. So of course they bring their best, and it all becomes an upward spiralthat you'd have to see, and hear, and be part of, to fully appreciate."
"I especially enjoy customizing my skills into a specifically designed set of workshops and concerts that fit your needs and visions. So if you don't see just what you're looking for, let's create it together." |
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