Community Sings with Ysaÿe Barnwell
Ysaÿe Barnwell leads a Community Sings event.
Image courtesy of the artist
Join Ysaÿe Barnwell for Community Sings: Singing in the African American Tradition, at which singers and nonsingers alike share the common experience of learning in the oral tradition, singing rhythms, chants, and traditional songs from Africa and the diaspora, as well as a variety of songs from African American culture, including spirituals, ring shouts, hymns, gospels, and songs from the civil rights movement.
The Community Sings event, which runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., is open to the public; attendance at the Berklee reception beforehand, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., requires ID.
There is an awesome power in the human voice, and when uncommon voices are blended for the common good, they become a vocal community. As an introduction to the songs, the historical, social, and political context will be provided. The group will explore, from an African American worldview, the values imbedded in the music; the role of cultural and spiritual traditions and rituals; the ways in which leadership emerges and can be shared among community members; the nature of cultural responses to and influences on political and social struggle; and the significance of a shared communal experience. All that is required is a willingness to sing.
Learn more about Community Sings: