Global Sounds, Fall 2024, Department of Music Free Concert Series

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Department of Music 2024 – 2025 Concert Series

Global Sounds Andy McGraw, director Ensemble Directors: Nirmal Bajekal, Roderick Davis, Alasdair Denvil, Kevin Harding, Andy McGraw

Sunday, November 24, 2024 3:00 PM Camp Concert Hall

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-PROGRAMIndonesian (gamelan) Ensemble (MUS 229, MSEN 203-03, Gamelan Raga Kusuma) Ladrang Wilujeng. Traditional Javanese court music. Wilujeng means “peace” and the work is often performed to ensure a successful concert or ceremony.

Lancaran Penghijauan. Wasitodiningrat, composer. A popular piece composed in the 1980s about Indonesian government reforesting initiatives. Really.

Lancaran Lesung Jemungglung. Nartosabdho, composer. A piece composed for shadow theatre in the 1960s. The vocal line imitates traditional rice pounding rhythms.

Ketawang Subakastawa. Traditional Javanese court music, part of the traditional shadow theatre repertoire.

West African (djembe) Ensemble (MSEN 203-02, Creative Hands Drum Ensemble) Sunun. A traditional rhythm of the Kassounke of Mali (Kayes Region). Sunun is a popular rhythm played at all popular festivals and important during weddings. This song is named after a female dancer, who was known to be the best Gui dancer.

Yankadi-Makru. A traditional rhythm of the Susu of Southwest Guinea. Yankadi is one of two rhythms “Yankadi Makru” that are played as a courting rhythm. The young people of neighboring villages invite one another to Yankadi festivities. Mostly, the young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five dance.

The dance begins slowly with the rhythm Yankadi; girls and boys face each other in two rows and slowly dance towards each other.

Djansa (Dansa, Yansa, Diansa). A traditional rhythm of the Kassounke of Southern Mali. Originally, Djansa was a competition dance for young men. Nowadays, it is a popular rhythm played all over West Africa at various festivals.

Indian Classical Music (MSAP 181) Raga Yaman, toda (slow) and tan (fast) sections in teental (16 beat) cycle. Darshan Shah (sitar), Harsha Kohale (tabla). Nirmal Bajekal, instructor.

Brazilian Ensemble (MSEN 195) Medley: Vivo Sonhando, Look to the Sky. Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Arranged by Kevin Harding Corcovado. Jobim. One of Jobim’s best known popular songs.

Esperar pra Ver. Made famous by singer Evinha this tune comes out of the Black Rio social consciousness movement of the 1970s.

Sabiá. Jobim, Chico Buarque. This celebrated ballad was released during Brazil’s military dictatorship. With sly language crafted to elude political censorship, the song describes a bird in a desolate landscape longing to return home.

Taiko Ensemble (MSEN 203-01, River City Taiko) Renshu. (UR Taiko Ensemble and River City Taiko). “Renshu” — or “practice” — was initially written as a drill to teach students different techniques for playing taiko. It was created by San Francisco Taiko Dojo, founded in 1968 by Seiichi Tanaka, and the first taiko dojo in North America. Many North American taiko groups play their own version of this song.

Satsuki. (River City Taiko) “Satsuki” is the Japanese word for the month of May. This song was written by Marco Lienhard, director of Taikoza in New York City. This version is played on stands that place the taiko at an angle -- “naname”.

Nagara Seiryu Nobori-Uchi. (UR Taiko Ensemble and River City Taiko). Often called “Seiryu”, this song is connected to the Nagara River, one of the Kiso Three Rivers running through the Nōbi Plain west of Nagoya. The line of taiko represents the Nagara River. The drummers play while moving along the drums, re-enacting the movement of carp as they move up and then back down the river every year.

STICK AROUND AND TRY THE INSTRUMENTS!

PERFORMERS Gamelan Ensemble (MUS 203-03) Students: Doro Azizi, Haoran Chen, Silin Jiang, David Kim, Leah Li, Mary Manching, Weiyi Wan, Claire Wu, Kaylee Wyrick, Yili Zhang Gamelan Raga Kusuma, Andy McGraw director: Dave Armistead, Emily Bradford, Taylor Burton, Caio Davison, Paul Fleisher, Jackson Gillie, Brian Larson, Andy McGraw, Nicholas Merillat, John Priestley, Rex Pyle, Zach Revene, Julie Sidharta, Dan Wingo, Jessica Zike.

African Drumming Ensemble (MUS 203-02), Roderick Davis, director: Rilwan Akinola, Leyan Han, Mercy Le, Yudong Liang, Julian Minkoff, Chen Peng, Alex Scott, Veronica Wang, Wesley Wen, Ashley Wilson, Nate Wingerd, Amanda Zhang, Jonathan Zhang Brazilian Ensemble (MUS 195), Kevin Harding, director: Charleigh Tift, voice; Isabella Aldeguer, voice and violin; Janice Park, piano; Yuxuan Hu, drums; David Kim, guitar and bass; Tony Cargill, guitar and bass; Ethan Rodgers-Gates, cello Taiko Ensemble (MUS 203-01), Alasdair Denvil, director: Doro Azizi, Lucio Delgado, Shun Kadekawa, Zarni Kaung, Varun Rayamajhi, Akira Suzuki, Tenzin Tsekyi River City Taiko, Alasdair Denvil, director: Tsugumi Fukuma, Yumi Hwang, Sharon Plata, Jeriel Pungtilan, Zach Sowers, Tadao Uchisawa, Ashley Wright

Study these Musics for Credit!

Consider these Spring 2025 .5 unit Courses. No pre-reqs, All Welcome.

FSVP, VMAP credit (over 2 semesters), Embodied Communication credit (over 1 semester).

MSEN 203-01 Japanese Taiko MSEN 203-02 West African Drumming MSEN 203-03 Indonesian Gamelan MSEN 195 Brazilian Music MSAP 181 Sitar lessons

About UR’s Instruments The Japanese word “taiko” means drum, but since the 1950s it has also referred to a new style of ensemble drumming. It was popularized by composer/performer Oguchi Daihachi (1924-2008) and groups like Sukeroku Taiko, Ondekoza, and Kodo. Many taiko pieces incorporate traditional rhythms into new compositions. Taiko was introduced to the United States by Seiichi Tanaka (b. 1943) when he founded the San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968. UR’s chu daiko (“medium” taiko) were made by Toshi Kato in 2013. Following the American tradition of taiko construction, these drums are built from wine barrels.

UR’s Balinese gamelan ensemble was made in 2006 by Pande Sukerta, Bali’s foremost gongsmith. UR’s Javanese gamelan was made in the 1980s by Ki Tentrem, Java’s foremost gongsmith.

Gamelan Raga Kusuma is a community gamelan in residence at the University of Richmond. Founded in 2008 by Andy McGraw and Gusti Putu Sudarta, the ensemble has appeared in performances in Bali, the Smithsonian Institution, the Indonesian Embassy and in several venues along the East Coast. Membership is free and open to the public. Interested? See: www.ragakusuma.org, our Facebook and Instagram profiles, or email amcgraw@richmond.edu. Rehearsals are held Sunday evenings 6-8 in North Court 024.

River City Taiko grew out of the University of Richmond Taiko Ensemble, which was founded in 2010 by Prof. Paul Yoon. River City Taiko and its accompanying kids’ group, Stream City Taiko, are currently based at Sabot at Stony Point. www.rivercitytaiko.org.

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