Celebrating Arabic Music
We will be launching a new ten-week video series.
This year we launched four video-based music series that allowed us to keep music in the lives of New York City public school children. We celebrated music from Venezuela to the Dominican Republic, from Cuba to Mexico in Alegría Musical: Latin American Stories. Teaching Artist Dave Adewumi introduced children to Jazz and the historical context of the music including the transatlantic slave trade, the Roaring Twenties, and the Civil Rights Movement in Jazz and the World of Black American Music. We took a romp through history and across continents to explore classical music in The Musical Time Machine. Lastly, we honored many different traditions of music while learning how to play the recorder in Recorders without Borders.
We discovered that schools have a strong interest in offering these deep dives into different musical cultures. Some Arabic songs make an appearance in our courses--such as the popular Lebanese song, “Ala De’Lona,” in “Recorders without Borders.” As we look to the future, we would like to delve deeply into Arabic music, exploring everything from historical context to instruments, rhythms, and melodies.
All of our video series are produced by accomplished performing musicians who are also committed to education. We are currently looking for such an Arabic music specialist. If you have any suggestions you want to share with us, we'd love to hear from you!
Video of the Week
Teaching Artists Hery Paz and Juan Trujillo are introducing hundreds of students to Latin American music with the help of two puppets, Pepe and Tito. Grab your family and take a minute to learn about Cuban music (while also picking up some Spanish) in Week #1 of "Alegría Musical: Latin American Stories!"
Link to "Snapshot of 'Alegría Musical: Latin American Stories.'"
Community Member Highlight
Our partner in Jordan, formerly The Syria Fund, has a new name!
In the words of Lexi Shereshewsky, the US Executive Director of The Azraq Community and Education Fund:
"The organization has continued on, in spite of the difficult challenges that COVID-19 has presented! While our physical center may be closed, we remain committed to bringing important education and enrichment opportunities to our 250+ students at home. From keeping up with their regular studies in Arabic, Math, English, and Science, to hosting 'video news hours' and putting together community newsletters, we are encouraging our students to stay connected, motivated, and engaged with their education as we wait for COVID-19 rates to subside and vaccinations to increase. We can't wait until we can be together again and look forward to future collaborations with S'Cool Sounds where we can celebrate and play music together!"
Learn more about The Azraq Community and Education Fund’s incredible work here.
