It's been WAY too long. I'm finally getting a small break to update you on what I've been doing since returning to the States after a summer that was nothing even close to short of life-changing!
I learned so much from those three months that one post would never be able to do it justice. But I'll give you the highlight reel of the before and after. Being away for 3 months definitely propelled me into action mode when I returned home to Philly.
BUT, of course, (with me, anyway) you can't have a truly entertaining story that doesn't include some elements of the dramatic. My summer was booked ended with some pretty heavy "dramaticals" that even Shakespeare himself couldn't have scripted!
I'll begin with my return:
Gabe and I booked roundtrip flights out of Rio de Janeiro for this whole adventure. So, after finishing our work in Salvador, we had to fly to Rio before returning home. Names are changed to protect the innocent here, ok? So, Fabriel Joebus-Monique books a flight that leaves Salvador before the Sun's alarm clock even goes off. Naturally, since this is our last night in this beautiful city, with our amazing new friends, for who knows how long, we get very little sleep. And by little, I mean none!
A friend of ours taxis us to the airport at around 4am and we proceed to reenact scenes from "The Walking Dead" as we stumble into the airport like newborn babies. Cell Phones - check. Wallets - check. Computers - check. Bags - check. Hoard of instruments - check! We were on our way.
"Please empty all of your pockets of change, cell phones, and wallets and place them in a container," said those people who do that thing at that place.
"Thank you. Please step through and make sure to grab all of your belongings." Yeah, yeah, I thought. We were the only people in "line" and all I had my eyes on was the oasis on the other side of the metal detectors, which was: the terminal beds!
Seats, of course.
I grabbed my items and stumbled off. Off to Rio...
The plane ride was short. I normally listen to music from my cell phone, but I wanted to catch as many Z's as possible for the long day ahead. However, as we neared our landing, the beauty of this new city from the air caught my squinting eyes. We were landing in paradise! I knew I wanted to take pictures so I jumped excitedly to get my phone to snap some images... And then I jumped again... and then my heart jumped!
I had gone three months out of the country with my most precious electronics. Electronics that had helped me document and store all of the research information I was acquiring on these adventures. Siri (my iPhone. Probably yours, too.) had been there from the beginning and I was proud of how careful I had been with all of my expensive toys on such a long journey. But she never made it past the metal detectors in Salvador. Sitting in a small plastic bin. All by herself...
There I stood. Touchdown in New York City. I had landed in Brazil feeling like Batman. Now I had returned to America feeling like Tarzan! I guess the lesson is they're both heroes.
So here I was. Back home in my concrete jungle sans cell phone. BUT. It was found at the airport, so all hope wasn't lost. I had to simply learn to live without a cell phone for about a month as Siri made her long trek home from Brazil. She finally did. And we were reunited at last. And I made my first phone call on it in over 4 months!
But other reasons why I enjoyed the luxury of the phone is that I am able to listen to music, and take photos and record videos wherever I go. So, Since I had been teaching for over a month by the time I got my cellphone back, I could finally document my kiddies playing some cool Brazilian rhythms in the classroom. Here's two of them performing a famous Timbalada break with me. They were initially camera-shy, so I told them I wasn't recording and that I was "just making sure it works." - They nailed it! :)
The rest of my semester has been filled with lots of teaching and performing. Currently, I work with two wonderful El Sistema-inspired music programs - Play On, Philly! & Sister Cities Girl Choir - and an equally amazing community music organization - Settlement Music School. All three of these programs are "classical" based learning centers, but through these programs I am able to put to practice many of the ideas and musics that I gathered in Brazil and all over the world. At both "Sistema" programs I taught students rhythms, songs, and dance movements of the Orixas. At Settlement, we are currently in the process of building a world music ensemble.
I've also been continuing as a Guest Lecturer at Temple University in their World Music Department. I present lecture-demonstrations on Arabic drumming and dance. It's definitely a different world of music, but soulful drumming none the less. And it's another culture that wonderfully captures our message of drumming for social change.
This past summer, before Brazil, I was selected to join an international orchestra called YOA Orchestra of the Americas to tour throughout Central America (more on that later). At the conclusion of the tour members were invited to apply for a fellowship opportunity in their Global Leaders Program. To take a quote from their site: "YOA's Global Leaders Program is an annual yearlong leadership-training course that supports the transformation of exceptional musicians into leading social entrepreneurs. The Global Leaders program combines unique on-site professional experience in diverse international settings with remote classroom training led by a faculty of pioneers in the fields related to social development through music." I was very fortunate to be granted one of these fellowships and have been enjoying all of the wonderful seminars and information that this membership has afforded. I'll be going to Honduras at the end of January for my on-site training!
To compliment the teaching, there has been some neat opportunities to perform. I'll go ahead and bridge teaching and performing with my association with the orchestra Symphony in C. I perform regularly with their orchestra, but in addition, the orchestra engages in a multitude of community outreach. The sessions are geared towards school-aged children and we manage to combine classical and world music in presenting the performing arts.
I'm also involved with a new West African music group in the Philadelphia area called "World's Ewe African Music and Dance Ensemble." We had our debut performance at the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon. It was a great opportunity to perform for an international audience and amp up all of the runners for the event.
Lastly (but certain not least!), I've been accompanying lots of Spanish Flamenco! I've been falling in love with the palos (rhythms) of Spain over the past few years and I have the wonderful opportunity to work with two amazing Flamenco Dance companies in Philadelphia: Flamenco Ole! & Pasion y Arte Flamenco.
That's pretty much my life in Philly since my return to the States. I ended the semester with a wonderful week back home in Louisiana spending Christmas time with family and friends in New Orleans and Lafayette, respectfully. I'm always inspired by being back in New Orleans. The more I travel, the more I learn, and the more I grow as a musician, and the more I grow spiritually, the more I realize how unique and beautiful my home is and just how connected I have become to everything that the city represents. It has been said being in New Orleans is like being in different country within the U.S. And of all the places I've been in the world so far, if I had to name its likeness and essence to another place I've seen... I'd say Salvador, Brazil.
See you in the New Year, my friends. Get ready for some exciting news (SOON) from Gabe and myself.
Peace. and keep drumming!
Brad
