The Homecoming Song
Teaching Artist Ruaridh Pattison shares his travels with Abdullah Ibrahim's "The Homecoming Song"
"I’ve been thinking of our friends in Kenya recently, as S’Cool Sounds was unable to make it out to see them last year. I taught them "The Homecoming Song," by the South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim on my first trip there in 2017.
The catchy melody and African rhythms were a huge hit and it became a part of our students' core repertoire. Students at the FAFU (Facing the Future School) were later featured on Kenyan national TV playing it with perfect grace and poise.
I’ve just finished a fantastic recorder program with the students at Ella Baker, a New York City public school with whom we have had a long and fruitful partnership. The last piece we learned together was "The Homecoming Song." Current circumstances meant that we couldn’t hold a traditional performance to mark the end of the course, so instead we had a remote recording session. This video is the result.
I learned "The Homecoming Song" at a jazz summer camp in Scotland when I was a young teenager and it was taught to my teacher when he was a lad at the very same camp. To me, this is community through music; it spans cultures, nationalities, and generations."
Video of the Week
Our talented young musicians at FAFU (Facing the Future School) in Kibera, Kenya performed "The Homecoming Song" in preparation for the 2018 National Kenyan Music Festival.
Community Member Highlight
We've always found that the key to a successful program is having a strong partner at a school. A caring teacher who models enthusiasm and excitement about learning, Gabby Knight was that person for our recent "Recorders without Borders"program at the Ella Baker School.
"I came up with the idea to do events for Black History Month after seeing a video of past events at the school," says Gabby. "I wanted to showcase Black excellence, history, and what we bring to the table as a culture. To showcase all those aspects we had an African drums workshop, a choreographed dance, a spoken word poetry slam, and to top it off, the recorder students' shining performance of a piece of music from a South African artist.
What was meaningful to me about facilitating the recorder program with Ru was the ease with which he taught the kids. He would try and make sure all the kids felt important and valued. He would give the kids opportunities to shine. He also would stay behind with me to give extra time to any student who didn't feel comfortable sharing during the lesson and needed one-to-one time."
Thank you, Gabby for your dedication and vision!