February is Black History Month. since its early beginnings at Kent State University in 1970, and the eventual adoption of the month by the American Government in 1976, the month has been used to remember and celebrate the achievements of African Americans and later black citizens throughout the diaspora.
Starting on Saturday, February 1st at 2:00pm, The Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts will be holding a four-week course that focuses on and teaches aspects of the African American work and field songs, as well as some gems from the West African musical tradition.
Teaching this course is someone who has a vast knowledge of the genre and the background behind these kinds of music.
Jazz vocalist Adele Wilding is the inaugural winner of the 2005 BWA Nina Simone Award in London, England. She has performed at jazz festivals, and taught jazz workshops throughout Canada and the U.K. She has also toured Western Canada four times, appearing with several of the regions finest jazz, blues, gospel, and soul artists.
Aside from her superior jazz pedigree, she grew up in a home with an English father and a mother who was from Barbados. As a result, she grew up with the West Indies sounds ringing around her childhood home.
This is the third year that Wilding has been teaching a song course for black history month. What students have taken away from the experience has been memorable and valuable. As Wilding says, “For me the most rewarding thing was the takeaways that the students and the participants receive at the end of the classes. The knowledge they receive regarding of the variety of songs that are on offer within the spiritual genre, as well as the West Indian genre, and the cultural and historical aspects behind these songs. It's wonderful to see people absorbing this and actually taking it on and celebrating it at the end of each class.”
Work songs helped people work together in rhythm. They also fed the soul and helped workers deal with the very difficult situations they found themselves in.
The work and field songs that students will learn will be taught in the aural-oral tradition. Wilding points out that they can be fun to learn. “They are wonderful to teach because you can use body rhythm, there is call and response which is another technique that we look at in these classes. You can do all kinds of things with them, they are fabulous”
The West Indian portion of the class will deal with a variety of styles of music from the region. “We are going to be looking at calypso, Soca, mento which is a precursor to reggae, and of course we will be looking at reggae as well,” says Wilding. West Indian artist such as Bob Marley and Harry Belafonte will be discussed.
The course is four weeks long and runs during the four Saturdays in February. The first three classes students will be learning the various songs and then in the final class will be a performance/ song sharing class. “What we do at the song sharing is...we just celebrate the community in which we’ve learned these songs. We celebrate the friendships that have been made, and I can guarantee people do make friendships in these classes, because I like to make a very friendly and warm environment for singers. It’s also a chance for their loved ones and their friends to come and just hear what we have been working on during the previous three weeks.
This will be a fun and enjoyable class. The Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts’ A Celebration of Spirituals and West Indian Songs course takes place every Saturday in February, starting on February 1st.
For more details on how to register for this amazing class click here.
