Welcome to the official blog of Drumming for Social Change (hitherto refered to as DFSC). I know you’ve all been at the edge of your chairs waiting for this mountain and I hope we don’t disappoint! On this blog we’ll be uploading daily content, including videos, pictures, interviews, recordings, and alot of content to keep everyone up to date on our Brazilian adventures. This first post is a quick update on the past month. Tomorrow I’ll be posting a live interview I made from the Blue Skies Folk Festival in Canada, so stay tuned.
I am still pinching myself that this project is really happening especially after the whirlwind of fundraising and trip planning that was the last two months. There have been some nail-biting moments involving our logistics, housing plans, visas, and many other things that I won’t bore you going into details about (though funders go to the funders only section for some gory details) but at this point everything looks like it will work out smoothly. We are so grateful for the support we’ve received from people all over North and South America. We wouldn’t have gotten past our front doors without you.
Outside of DFSC planning, I have had a busy July. At the beginning of the month I began working as a teaching artist for Play On Philly’s summer session. I taught five amazingly gifted elementary and middle school students in a percussion studio class and chamber music class. I also had the pleasure of teaching a 32 student “Creative Class” in which I teamed up with fellow TA Naiomi Gonzales to explore composition, dance, and world music. Every year POP’s programs get better and better and I can only imagine the improvements next summer will have. I hope I will still be involved!
Outside of DFSC planning, I have had a busy July. At the beginning of the month I began working as a teaching artist for Play On Philly’s summer session. I taught five amazingly gifted elementary and middle school students in a percussion studio class and chamber music class. I also had the pleasure of teaching a 32 student “Creative Class” in which I teamed up with fellow TA Naiomi Gonzales to explore composition, dance, and world music. Every year POP’s programs get better and better and I can only imagine the improvements next summer will have. I hope I will still be involved!
July also afforded me plenty of time to develop another project that I will be starting right after returning from Brazil. All I will disclose is that its an all-star performance group that’s going to be a killer and is guaranteed to get you dancing wether you’d like to or not. Stay tuned for that :)
In these final three days before I depart for Rio (stopping there for one night before meeting Brad and flying to Salvador) I am still trying to stay as busy as possible preparing for the trip. I still have to finish reading some books about Northeastern Brazil and continue practicing as much Portuguese as I can. I’ve been working on the language since last fall and I am confident that once we arrive I’ll be able to communicate enough to get around...hopefully. Brad’s been getting a strong dose of Spanish during his Central American escapades, so that will come in handy as well.
I am really excited to discover the cultural treasures of Salvador. Its hard to imagine what to expect. I know that many aspects of the city will be challenging. Its not know to be the safest city on Earth and apparently its infrastructure is a little dubious. However, I haven’t anyone who’s traveled there who hasn’t said anything less than that it is a city filled with all kinds of wonders. I am hoping that its beauty will help inspire Brad and I to put in as many hours as possible into our project. Outside of the lessons we’ll be taking, we need to do a lot of work posting content on the blog and social media sites as well as fulfilling all the incentives for our funders. Its already been months of tireless work but I’ve learned that I really enjoy putting in non-musical work (such as emailing, planning, etc) when it’s for a project that’s my brainchild.
The way I see it, Stage One was planning this whole trip. Stage Two was fundraising. Now it is the beginning of Stage Three, going to Salvador and starting the research. Even writing these words, I simply can’t believe this trip is happening. Thank you to everyone for their support and stay tuned for daily updates on this blog. Tomorrow I’ll be uploading a video exploring Canadian folk traditions, so definitely check that out. Peace!
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