COMING UP
Monthly Concert 3. Nov. 2009
HAPPENING THIS WEEK!
Global Music Campus in Dar
DONATE AN INSTRUMENT
Mayotte 2010
Four
teachers from DCMA have left the country on 7th of October for the
purpose of conducting a traditional Taarab music workshop in Mayotte.
The workshop which is slated to run for a period of almost three weeks
from October 7 to 26 has been organized and is sponsored by the
Department of Culture of Mayotte. DCMA teachers who will be running the
workshop include Mohammed Issa 'Matona', Rajab Suleiman, Mohammed Othman
and Kesi Juma.
The training session as part of the workshop will consist of group lessons in Taarab instruments such as Oud, Violin and Qanun. Besides the instrument lessons other training sessions will concentrate on Taarab singing and ensemble play.
According to the organizers of the workshop, several musicians from Mayotte as well as the sister islands of the Grand Comoros have been invited to take part in the training. Zanzibar and the Comoros bear stark similarities in culture arising from a common history of century-old relations with the Arab and Islamic world.
During the workshop period, the DCMA teachers are expected to team up with their trainees and appear in two planned concerts that are expected to attract wide audiences from among the lovers of traditional Taarab music of Zanzibar living in Mayotte.
This is the second time for music teachers from DCMA to conduct music training in the Indian Ocean islands whereby in 2009 a similar workshop under the sponsorship of the UNESCO office in Tanzania took place in the island of Moroni (please also see article below on this page).
Furthermore, Zanzibari and Comorian musicians have collaborated in various musical projects including joint performances at the annual Sauti za Busara Festival that takes place in Stonetown in February.
Zanzibar's Taarab music remains to be the most influencial music genre on the islands even though it is popularly known as Twarab and includes additional instrumental accompaniments such as Gambusi and Ndzendze. Besides Taarab, Sega music from nearby Mauritius and Réunion is also popular.
Comoros 2009
Songs of the Moon - DCMA goes to the Comoros!
Moroni, Comoros
January 10-21, 2009
This
project is supported by UNESCO and funded by the Japanese Government
within the framework of the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The aims id to safeguard
traditional Swahili music in the Indian Ocean Region through providing
opportunities for local musicians of the region to learn from each other,
thus initiating a intercultural and intergenerational dialog. Planned is a
total of three exchange visits between teachers and students of the DCMA
with musicians from the Comoros. The 2 following exchange visits are
planned for later this year
In this first exchange visit DCMA sends the four members to the Comoros to hold a 10 day workshop in Moroni. Traveling for DCMA are as teachers Mohammed Issa (Matona) Haji (Oud), Mohammed Othman (violin) and Fadhil Mohammed (percussion) as well as the bass guitar player and member of the Board of Trustees/Artisitic Committee Adel Dabo. The Comorian group is headed by the well-known musician Boina Risiki and Chihabiddine Said Abdallah, director of the radio station Studio 1, where the workshop will take place.
About 10 musicians are expected to participate in the workshop which will focus on practical training in Oud, Violin, Percussion, Kudumbak & Taarab. A joint concert on January 20th at the French Cultural Center in Moroni will mark the end of this visit.