music
Lepcha Traditional Music
A group of seven friends have formed a band in Sikkim in order to preserve the Lepcha language and to help popularize traditional Lepcha folk music, both of which are endangered. A news story in the magazine Eclectic Northeast last week described the progress, and setbacks, of the Lepcha folk-fusion band Sofiyum. The founder of […]
Blending European and Ju/’hoansi Music
A band from Amsterdam is heading for Namibia to collaborate with four Ju/’hoansi grandmothers as they perform music that will blend the traditions of the San with contemporary European styles. A news report in the New Era newspaper last week explained the origins and history of the project. The band, called The Namibian Tales, with […]
Nubian Singing in Sudan
Researcher Samir Bukab maintains that Nubian music has 12 rhythms, which inspire different meanings for different listeners, though none are symbolic of the warfare that is common among other Sudanese societies. His comments appear as part of an article on the music of the Nubian people of northern Sudan and its importance in their society. […]
Symphony Orchestra at a Piaroa Village
The Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela (OSV) is continuing its program of outreach into the nation’s schools, but it is evident from a news story last week that their February visit to a Piaroa village has been a highlight of the past year. The orchestra launched its “The OSV at My School” program early this year […]
Piaroa Aesthetic Values on Tour
A Venezuelan news story last week suggests the possibility that traditional Piaroa aesthetic values, essential aspects of their peacefulness, may be spread more widely in coming years. The Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela (OSV), visited a Piaroa village, Caño Grulla, on February 15 and 16 as part of its “OSV at My […]
Ladakh Confluence Music Festival Cancelled
A much-anticipated international music festival, part of the summer tourism calendar in Ladakh, was supposed to start today—but it was cancelled at the end of last week due to pressures from unhappy Ladakhi groups. Called Ladakh Confluence, the festival was scheduled to run through the 18th in Shey, near the capital city of Leh. In […]
Bamboo Music from India
Although a proposed hydropower dam in India’s Kerala state, which would harm the natural environment and a Kadar village, was recently stopped by the national government, citizens continue to protest. A recent article describes a unique form of protesting against the dam on the Athirappilly River carried out by a group called the Pakkanar Bamboo […]
Nubian Zar Ceremony Is Changing
Last week, the Christian Science Monitor published a brief story about the fading musical art form of the Nubians known as the zar. The correspondent for the Monitor, Laura Kasinov, witnessed a zar performance at a small arts studio in Cairo and was impressed. She indicated that the music originates in Upper Egypt, on the […]
Traditional Nubian Culture Featured in New Film
An independent travel/ethnographic film about the culture and music of the displaced Nubians will be screened at a festival in Bahrain early next month. According to the February 6 – 12 issue of Gulf Weekly, the film, “Memories of Utopia,” will be shown at the Coral Beech Club on the Al Fateh Corniche in Bahrain. […]
