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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1993)
Marimba fest celebrates life Meg Dedolph (Mily (.I’Witm This slorv is about putting things together - the layered rhythms and melodies of Shone music, people with little in common but their urge to play the marimba anil a week end festival that combines the two with performances and workshops. “One of the things that's always struck me is that people come from all walks of life to play." said Michael Broez, a teacher and performer from the San Juan Islands. "It touches people on a really common level. It’s not like musicians are turned on. or hippies or yuppies. It touches a universal note in all people." he said. Joel Lindstrom, director of Eugene's Kutsinhira Marimba Center, agrees. li s it rtrai lumiiy. na*x people) drawn from all walks of life - a geologist, teacher, piano tuner, even a naturopathic physician." Community aside, many players find the music possess es some quality that makes it more appealing than other kinds of music, to listeners, dancers and players. “The music really touches something inside me," said Claire Jones, an ethnomusicolo gy student at the University of Washington. ■•I've played classical flute and folk guitar, but this touch es me in a deeper way. physi cally and emotionally It seems like a butter fit." Jones said. "Shona music is such joyful music." said Lora Chiorah-Dye. who taught dance at last week end’s Northwest Marimba Festival. "You can never sit down. You have to move." "The first thing 1 was really blown away by is the physicali ty of it," Breez said. "It looks like fun. People are often touched by the harmonies and the voices. The way the instru ments are sot up. some people hear voices. " Breez said he believes the music has some healing quali ties as well, “For mo, it's like using the muscles in your body in a very clearing way. I've gone into performances and been sick, and been dear on the way out The music moves the energy through you. It s very healing for me.” Many agree Shona music possesses some quality that makes it more appealing than other kinds of music to listen ers. dancers and players. Beyond the music, many players find community among other players and teachers. jtrr PASUivf >*>•»«« Soofa Kelsey Instructs participants In the Northwest Marimba Festival In Tsaba Hosho, a typo of dried squash used as an InstumenL More than making friends the sense of community is also considered necessary to play well, said Breez and (ones. "You need to cooperate for the music to be tight." (ones said, adding that many classes are structured so that the same people study together for months. "The music won't work if everyone doesn't have an awareness of everyone else in the room." Breez said. The marimbas used in bands like Shumba and Kudana are not strictly African in origin or native to Zimbabwe. The instruments were created in the lflfiOs at a college in Zimbabwe and wore designed with fea tures from both African and South American marimbas In addition to marimbas, some bonds use mbiras, which are tuned tongues of metal attached to a hollow box or gourd. The mbiru is played with the ringers and has a soft metallic: sound. Rhythmic: accompaniment is provided by drums, sometimes drum set and hoshos, which are dried gourd rattles Because the marimba is not an authentic Zimbabwean instrument, the music played in marimba ensembles is most ly arrangement of traditional mbira tunes. Whereas a mbira player might play four or five different rhythmic; lines at the same time to make up a piece, marimba bands split up the different rhythms and melodies between players "The music is all about call and response,” said Breez. "The lead, leads the group and the group follows the lead all around. The lead checks back to see if everyone's following " Bands include a lead player and any number of other play ers. playing marimbas of differ ent ranges, from bass marimbas with bars made from 2-by-6 pieces of wood to smaller and higher-pitched instruments With more players, there are more kinds of responses, some occurring nt the same time, some happening shortly after the call. But whatever the response. Brae/ said each part has to still fit in with everyone olse’s "It's about being able to move your part and move your lines around and still under stand the piece," Breez said This marimba music. which is representative of lilt' Shorn) culture — about two-thirds of the Zimbabwean population — first came to this country in the 19(U)s through Dumisani Maraire at the University of Washington. I lit IH H T n larit\ in the United States has not always reflected its status in Zimbabwe. Chiorah-Dye said apartheid and Christianity dampened support for native music. "Christianit\ said you could not do anything African," Chiorah-Dye said. "You did not feel you could be a Christian and play African music or the demons would come It was something you played at home." But in the ltffiOs, Zimbabwe reached a time of cultural pride and cultural nationalism, and universities began playing and teaching Shona music, (ones a player and teacher, said Since then, Shona music, has been taught in grade schools, and several American marimba groups have toured Zimbabwe "The people were happy, thankful, amazed, positive," said (ones of her performances in Zimbabwe. "All the mes sages they'd gotten from white people in the past was stop that, it's pagan,' but here was a Western person taking the time to learn about their music and do it reasonably well." r at the EMU Rec Center f9 Brunswick’s Gold Crown III Pool Tables THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT BRIDGESTONE BICYCLES w In a sense, Bridgestone Bicycles have always had shocks. 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HEAVY METAL ^ ccMwftjgw^MwyflPQW _ UO School of Music's World Music Series presents Gamelan Sekar Jaya Described by a national news magazine as “clearly the finest Balinese gamelan outside of Bali,’ Sekar Jaya will perform a variety of Balinese music and dance, including a special appearance by two dancers from Indonesia. -v Friday, Oct. 8 8 p.m. Beall Concert Hall $10 Gen Admission, $8 Sludenls / Seniors, available at the door For more into, call 346-2852 -0 FREE Lecture Demonstration Friday, Oct 8 2 p.m Beall Concert Hall -0 Co-sponsors: UO Office of International Affairs, Oregon Humanities Center, Center tor Asian & Pacific Studies