Violin at Umoja Ensemble

I took my violin to Umoja Ensemble a few weeks ago and had a great time playing for the students! Here's a video Danielle made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FB-OOksGVQ&feature=youtu.be

Feeling at home

Danielle and I have a new home! We are renting a guest house from a French woman, Annie, who lives in the main house in the same compound. Our little house has two bedrooms, a main room which serves as our living/ dining/ music room, a kitchen, bathroom and shower, a tiny back yard with a clothesline for hanging laundry, and a little front porch.

In the living room we have a spare bed that we use for a couch -- we call it our "bouch!" Out of town guests are welcome! We have enjoyed having friends over for dinner a few times and I also have a couple of students who come in the evening for violin lessons.

The location is excellent: a twenty minute walk to the town centre, a ten minute walk to the church where we teach on Saturdays, a block from a dalla-dalla stop where we can catch a mini-bus to ISM where we work Monday through Friday. To take a taxi into town from our house (a necessity at night, when walking isn’t safe) is 3000 or 4000 shillings – less than 3 dollars.

The neighbourhood has apartment buildings, houses and small shops, including a tailor shop right across the street! I am having several dresses made there. There is also a safari company across the street, a public school next door, and a little bar down the block. It is a bustling neighbourhood with people out walking at all times of day and night. The street has a friendly feel to it. I am such an urban person; I sleep better with the sounds of traffic and people than in our previous location on the hill with its nighttime soundtrack of cows, chickens and dogs. And being able to walk places gives me a sense of freedom which is so important to me. Living here, I feel that I am embracing Arusha and it is home for this year. 

front door

kitchen counter

my room

living room and kitchen

living room/music room!

kitchen

candles in case there's no electricity...

table and "bouch"!

friends on our bouch...

 

Pictures from Zanzibar

Just got back from an amazing week in Zanzibar! Here are a few pictures:

Umoja Ensemble pictures

Hello to all! I am on vacation this week. At an internet cafe in Dar Es Salaam right now, planning to spend the day exploring Dar  -- and on to Zanzibar tomorrow! Super excited.  Lots of pictures will follow. Meanwhile, here are some pictures from last Friday at Umoja Ensemble. Danielle also made a video of me playing violin at the two schools, which I will post later.

Danielle teaching notation at Maasai Joy

Dancing and singing with Danielle and Tiana

Learning about quarter notes at Albehija

drumming with Teacher David

Living a musician's dream

Some of you know about my passion for African music; I have been collecting recordings and going to live performances (usually in Toronto) for the past 20 years. I even had the opportunity in the 90’s when I was playing with the band Isorhythm to play some African styles. More recently I started taking African drumming classes and participating in drum circles.

But I never imagined I would be part of the musical life in Africa! I would not have believed it possible. Tonight I am looking at my life and realizing that it is more than I could have hoped for. To give you an idea, here are some of the events of the past few days.

Wednesday: I played a gig at the Arusha Hotel with a local band: blues, reggae, African styles. We were playing for an international conference of people involved in microfinancing. The delegates were from 40 different countries! Everyone loved the music and apparently there had never before been such great dancing at one of their conventions.

Thursday: Umoja Songwriters’ Night! Seven local songwriters performed original songs in a wide variety of styles for an appreciative audience at a local restaurant. Danielle was the main organizer of this event – and not only that, but she played and sang two of her songs as well. I got to accompany her on violin for one song, a bluegrass tune. Great fun.

Friday: Started the day by going to Umoja Ensemble with Tiana and Danielle at a rural school called Maasai Joy. (See my previous post for a video put together by Danielle of Umoja Ensemble.) This enthusiastic group of young students are learning drumming and singing, and Danielle is also starting to teach them music notation. I got to play the djembe (hand drum) while they danced, and to take part in the dancing and singing as well. What a great time!  Next time I go I will take my violin and play it for the group, and perhaps we will do some improvising with violin, flute and drums.

Friday continued: This evening was a student recital at the International School, in which violin, piano and guitar students played solos. Everyone did very well, and family and friends had a lot of positive comments during refreshment time afterward. I had a good time accompanying some of my students on piano and on violin. 

Saturday (tomorrow): Outreach teaching at Arusha Community Church. I have five outreach students (local kids whose lessons are subsidized by fees paid by the international school students), three of whom are very young. An added challenge is that several of my outreach students speak very little English, so I am learning to teach using gestures, a few Swahili words (still very limited), and lots of “my turn – your turn.” Three of the outreach students’ mamas are also learning violin, which is great because they can then help their children practice at home.

Other musical experiences in recent weeks: jamming with two local musicians at an Arusha night spot; playing Bach in a concert that included works by Bartok, Debussy, and Faure, jazz standards, someone singing “Imagine” while playing the ukelele, a gospel trio, and three choirs including one in full Maasai dress; teaching 30+ private violin lessons and 3 group lessons each week; rehearsing a small group of students playing an abridged version of a Bach Brandenburg concerto; assigning some of my students to start writing music of their own; doing improvisation exercises in one group lesson and teaching younger kids in another group about opposites (staccato/legato, forte/piano, allegro/lento, high/low); enjoying the “soundtrack of life” in Arusha: lots of reggae blasting on the sound systems in taxis and dalla-dallas.

So here I am, living my own dream in Tanzania. 

Umoja Ensemble

Every Friday morning, Umoja teachers work with kids at two of the local schools. The Umoja Ensemble kids learn drumming and singing and they are learning about music from all parts of Africa. I haven't worked with Umoja Ensemble yet but am looking forward to going this week. Meanwhile, here is a great video Danielle put together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwMbA7C-F8c