Last Thursday, the Ithaca College school of music presented an evening of global enchantment. With the participation of 85 students studying with Dr. Baruch Whitehead, and special guest Sulley Imoro from West Africa, the presentation of elaborate dances and African rhythms took off in the campus’ Ford Hall.
Many audience members were surprised to learn the college had an education devoted to such diverse music, dance and celebration. But according to Dr. Whitehead, the teachings, including African tribal drumming based on his travels to Ghana in West Africa, have been going on for four years, and have extended even beyond the college campus.
“Whenever you have a college that’s situated in a community, it’s incumbent on a college to reach out,” he said. “We need to provide any kind of support that we can do in terms of enriching our community via the arts.”
Janet Galvan, professor music education and an advocate for Dr. Whitehead’s educational program, also works as artistic director of the Ithaca Children's Choir to reach out to the community. Galvan said she brought back teachings she had gathered from her personal studies in African music to benefit her choir as well as other young and willing students.
“I teach, like [Dr. Whitehead], in cultural context which means that we share the cultural setting for the music,” she said. “He and I are working to make Ithaca a center for the study of multicultural music.
Whitehead said that he and his colleagues work with the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) on their community music-education project that has been running since 2003 from the Ithaca College campus. They also work with elementary school students, particularly at Beverly J. Martin (BJM).
Jacqueline Scott, a secretary at BJM, said the school has been working with the college’s professors for years. In their after-school program, students are able to learn about things outside their typical classroom, including Dr. Whitehead’s African drumming lessons. Scott boasts that their program has a very long waiting list.
“Most of our curriculum is ethnocentric. We need to make sure our kids are getting an education,” Scott said. “And not just listening to music from dead white composers.”
Abby Cook, a junior, who is taking Dr. Whitehead’s “Worlds of Music” course and performed in last week’s presentation, said she thought teaching multicultural music was especially important for young people.
“It is always beneficial for a community to learn about and experience something out of the ordinary,” Cook said. “…It shows them that there are many different sounds, beats, messages and people all over the world.”
But according to Cook, the education can be just as enriching when you’re in college.
“I decided to take the class because I wanted to learn more about where our modern western music came from, to study its roots and become more aware of music from around the world,” she said.
PHOTO: (below) taken from the Ithacan article last year on education, shows Ghana guest Sulley Imoro teaching IC students some percussive rhythms.
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