18
Apr
2006
Multicultural festivals might bring to mind images of food and music from Asia or Africa, but Augustana College's inaugural Pulse of the River "multicultural music festival" is staying much closer to home.
The free event, which kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday and will close with a 7 p.m. performance by Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies, will feature musical performances and workshops in North American musical genres, from folk to salsa to hip hop.
The event, according to organizer and Augustana Associate Dean Michael Green, is part of a new emphasis on diversity at the college. President Steve Bahls, now in his third year, wanted to create a festival that would connect the campus to the community, embrace multiculturalism, and also be educational, Green said.
Pulse of the River seems poised to accomplish those goals. The lineup includes regional bands - Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies and Iowa's own Orquesta Alto Maiz - along with local favorites such as the Ellis Kell Band to draw an audience from the community. Yet the festival will also expose the Quad Cities to Augustana musical outfits, including the student hip-hop duo Take 2.
Musical performances will be held in the PepsiCo Recreation Center, while musical workshops are slated for the Westerlin Residence Center.
The idea for Pulse of the River was discussed two years ago, Green said, and was pushed forward with a $5,000 Illinois Arts Council grant. The college contributed $10,000 to the $25,000 event. Green said he doesn't know how many people to expect, but is hoping for an audience between 700 and 1,000.
Green emphasized that the festival is not the sum total of the college's diversity efforts. Thirty-five Augustana students are now in Africa - its first study-abroad program on the continent. In addition, the college is focusing on issues of cultural understanding and sensitivity in areas such as speeches. The college's convocation on April 20 will be a faculty panel on the topic "Jihad, Terrorism, & Democracy: What's Wrong with the Cartoons?"
John Hildreth, a professor of music at Augustana, said he's encouraged by the festival. Hildreth organized campus multicultural festivals in the early 1980s, he said, but discontinued them because of a lack of interest. "The emphasis now on diversity ... and on celebrating diversity ... is a good sign," he said. "I'm hoping it's not going to be just a concert. ... We need to do more than that on-the-surface type thing."
Festivals such as Pulse of the River need to enlighten as well as entertain, he said, and foster genuine understanding of other cultures. Ignorance and apathy of other cultures have severe consequences both domestically and abroad, he said, and international conflicts can be traced back to those shortcomings.
"It's just a start," he said of the Augustana festival. "At least it opens the door to global understanding."
In his classes on ethnomusicology, Hildreth said, he gives students examples of how Eastern and Western cultures have met musically. That serves as proof that different traditions can work together.
He added that a home-grown approach to multiculturalism is also healthy, fostering an understanding of the "stew pot" (rather than "melting pot") of American culture. "We can learn quite a bit by studying music in our own backyard," he said. The goal is to learn about the "contribution of music to the integration of culture."
Of course, music can also be enjoyed on its own, and at least one of the performers is looking to use Pulse of the River as a springboard. Augustana sophomores Raphael Boyd and Andrew Crowe are Take 2, and they've been performing together since a college talent show last year. Boyd is a singer who goes by the name "Rah," while Crowe handles spoken-word duties under the name "Lil Papi."
They've both been performing since their teens - Boyd in the Chicago area, and Crowe in St. Louis - but found chemistry working together. "We have two of the flavors that everybody's listening to," Crowe said. "We're from two hotbeds." Even more importantly, "we complement each other so well."
Take 2 has recorded 15 songs, and although the demo isn't polished, "you can still hear the potential, and the magic," Boyd said. They're hoping to get signed, or at least earn enough money to invest in a proper CD.
Pulse of the River will be the duo's highest-profile show - they performed at a fashion show at Dillard's - and they hope to gain a new audience outside of the college community. "You're touching people besides Augustana people," Boyd said. "I know we're going to deliver."
Rap music and culture are, of course, much-maligned in mainstream media outlets for glorifying violence and denigrating women. One of Hildreth's classes will next week explore those issues and more in an effort to understand them. "We come at it from every possible direction," he said.
Boyd drew a distinction between hip hop and rap, claiming that the latter "belittles hip hop." Hip hop, he said, "is saying what you feel. It's not about image. ... We say what we feel."
For more information about Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies, visit (http://www.redhotmojo.com). For more information on Orquesta Alto Maiz, visit (http://www.salsaband.com).
Pulse of the River Schedule
Musical Performances (PepsiCo Recreation Center, 1025 30th Street)
2 p.m.: Gospel Soul Revivers (gospel)
2:45 p.m.: The Thomas Trio (folk)
3:30 p.m.: Ellis Kell Band (blues)
4:30 p.m.: Gamez/Ott Duo (jazz)
5:15 p.m.: Orquesta Alto Maiz (salsa)
6:15 p.m.: Take 2 (hip hop)
7 p.m.: Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies (Cajun/zydeco)
Forty-five minute workshops will be held on the hour starting at 1 p.m. and continuing through 5:45 p.m. in Westerlin Residence Center, across from the PepsiCo center.
The event, according to organizer and Augustana Associate Dean Michael Green, is part of a new emphasis on diversity at the college. President Steve Bahls, now in his third year, wanted to create a festival that would connect the campus to the community, embrace multiculturalism, and also be educational, Green said.
Pulse of the River seems poised to accomplish those goals. The lineup includes regional bands - Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies and Iowa's own Orquesta Alto Maiz - along with local favorites such as the Ellis Kell Band to draw an audience from the community. Yet the festival will also expose the Quad Cities to Augustana musical outfits, including the student hip-hop duo Take 2.
Musical performances will be held in the PepsiCo Recreation Center, while musical workshops are slated for the Westerlin Residence Center.
The idea for Pulse of the River was discussed two years ago, Green said, and was pushed forward with a $5,000 Illinois Arts Council grant. The college contributed $10,000 to the $25,000 event. Green said he doesn't know how many people to expect, but is hoping for an audience between 700 and 1,000.
Green emphasized that the festival is not the sum total of the college's diversity efforts. Thirty-five Augustana students are now in Africa - its first study-abroad program on the continent. In addition, the college is focusing on issues of cultural understanding and sensitivity in areas such as speeches. The college's convocation on April 20 will be a faculty panel on the topic "Jihad, Terrorism, & Democracy: What's Wrong with the Cartoons?"
John Hildreth, a professor of music at Augustana, said he's encouraged by the festival. Hildreth organized campus multicultural festivals in the early 1980s, he said, but discontinued them because of a lack of interest. "The emphasis now on diversity ... and on celebrating diversity ... is a good sign," he said. "I'm hoping it's not going to be just a concert. ... We need to do more than that on-the-surface type thing."
Festivals such as Pulse of the River need to enlighten as well as entertain, he said, and foster genuine understanding of other cultures. Ignorance and apathy of other cultures have severe consequences both domestically and abroad, he said, and international conflicts can be traced back to those shortcomings.
"It's just a start," he said of the Augustana festival. "At least it opens the door to global understanding."
In his classes on ethnomusicology, Hildreth said, he gives students examples of how Eastern and Western cultures have met musically. That serves as proof that different traditions can work together.
He added that a home-grown approach to multiculturalism is also healthy, fostering an understanding of the "stew pot" (rather than "melting pot") of American culture. "We can learn quite a bit by studying music in our own backyard," he said. The goal is to learn about the "contribution of music to the integration of culture."
Of course, music can also be enjoyed on its own, and at least one of the performers is looking to use Pulse of the River as a springboard. Augustana sophomores Raphael Boyd and Andrew Crowe are Take 2, and they've been performing together since a college talent show last year. Boyd is a singer who goes by the name "Rah," while Crowe handles spoken-word duties under the name "Lil Papi."
They've both been performing since their teens - Boyd in the Chicago area, and Crowe in St. Louis - but found chemistry working together. "We have two of the flavors that everybody's listening to," Crowe said. "We're from two hotbeds." Even more importantly, "we complement each other so well."
Take 2 has recorded 15 songs, and although the demo isn't polished, "you can still hear the potential, and the magic," Boyd said. They're hoping to get signed, or at least earn enough money to invest in a proper CD.
Pulse of the River will be the duo's highest-profile show - they performed at a fashion show at Dillard's - and they hope to gain a new audience outside of the college community. "You're touching people besides Augustana people," Boyd said. "I know we're going to deliver."
Rap music and culture are, of course, much-maligned in mainstream media outlets for glorifying violence and denigrating women. One of Hildreth's classes will next week explore those issues and more in an effort to understand them. "We come at it from every possible direction," he said.
Boyd drew a distinction between hip hop and rap, claiming that the latter "belittles hip hop." Hip hop, he said, "is saying what you feel. It's not about image. ... We say what we feel."
For more information about Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies, visit (http://www.redhotmojo.com). For more information on Orquesta Alto Maiz, visit (http://www.salsaband.com).
Pulse of the River Schedule
Musical Performances (PepsiCo Recreation Center, 1025 30th Street)
2 p.m.: Gospel Soul Revivers (gospel)
2:45 p.m.: The Thomas Trio (folk)
3:30 p.m.: Ellis Kell Band (blues)
4:30 p.m.: Gamez/Ott Duo (jazz)
5:15 p.m.: Orquesta Alto Maiz (salsa)
6:15 p.m.: Take 2 (hip hop)
7 p.m.: Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies (Cajun/zydeco)
Forty-five minute workshops will be held on the hour starting at 1 p.m. and continuing through 5:45 p.m. in Westerlin Residence Center, across from the PepsiCo center.
