From the Nile Project, euphoric sound and a collaborative spirit flow
California’s water woes have been in the news. But with its concert at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on April 26, the Nile Project aims to direct your thoughts toward H2O in another part of the world.
A music-and-education initiative founded in 2011, the Nile Project is anchored by a collective of 27 instrumentalists and singers from Egypt, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and seven other countries along the Nile River Basin. The group’s shows feature regional languages, traditions and instruments (the oud, the kawala, the Ugandan adungu). After a show in January, the New York Times called the performance “euphoric.”
The Nile Project also works with universities to mount programs designed to increase knowledge about the river’s ecosystem. The music, too, is meant to have an educational and civic dimension: By showcasing the collaboration of musicians from different countries, the project’s leaders hope to nurture the kind of cross-cultural dialogue and understanding that could help prevent water-related conflicts.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com