Daraja Music Initiative at CAC: ft Gary Sperl

We were pleased to host Daraja Music Initiative (DMI) all the way from Moshi this week for our regular show in the CAC performance hall. DMI began as Clarinets for Conservation, teaching clarinet to young people in Moshi as well as planting Mpingo trees, from which you get the hard black wood to carve clarinets. It is a very slow-growing tree, and as the demand is high, it is becoming scarce. In 2015 they expanded to include violin lessons as well, and they all came to the CAC to perform on the main stage, side by side with the professional performers of the CAC. 

The CAC's connection with the DMI is through Gary Sperl, a professional clarinetist from the USA who has been coming to the music department at Tumaini University Makumira to volunteer for 10 years. He is currently here  in Tanzania teaching woodwind, music business and outreach at Uraki Secondary School.

DMI have also generously donated 50 mpingo trees to be planted on the CAC grounds. Some are now one year old and as tall as Gary!

For more information about DMI you can find them here: http://www.darajamusicinitiative.org/

gary sperl with a one year old mpingo tree

Dance Classes have finished term 1

Our first term of dance classes has finished with teachers Oliver Mrema and Saidi Kassim (and guest drummers Abasi Mkomwa and Robert Mathew). We had some really dedicated students who learned to dance Ngokwa from the South of Tanzania, Mangaka from Kilwa, and Sangula from Morogoro amongst others. 

We have started a new term, with teachers Fatina Mwasha and Abasi Mkomwa. Karibuni wote!

15,000TZS per person per class/100,000TZS for a full term of 8 weeks.

Amici Quintet

On the 6th of June we hosted the Amici Quintet, a professional wind quintet who were on tour from the USA. They played an exciting program with music from composers from around the world, including D'Rivera (Cuba), Piazzolla (Argentina), Poulenc (France), Danner (USA), Tamusuza (Uganda) and Still (USA). Difference ensemble arrangements were used, including a double bass and oboe duet, quartet with egg shakers, and a wind quintet featuring very own Programme Manager, Randy Stubbs, on the CAC grand piano. 

Around 100 students from Makumira University attended and had the opportunity to learn a little bit about the instruments that were being played. 

Karibu Kilifair 2018

This year CAC provided the majority of the entertainment on the main stage at the combined exposition for tourist stakeholders, Karibu Kilifair, from the 1-3 June. It was an opportunity to showcase some of the varied talents of our artists, and we presented traditional dancing and drumming, a masked dance, workshops for children and adults in dancing, hiphop, and acrobatics (collaborating with 4 other local acrobats). 

CAC fusion band also provided the entertainment at the AMEG hotel on Friday evening, playing international and Tanzanian hit songs. With weeks of learning lyrics in English, Spanish and other languages they played favourites such as Hotel California (Eagles), Despacito (Luis Fonsi), Sura Yako (Sauti Sol), One Love (Bob Marley) and Loliwe (Zahara). A good night was had by all!

Our stall in the fairground was also busy, both with people learning about the CAC and our activities, and people making music on the ngoma (drums), pembe (horn), kayamba (shaker) and zeze (stringed instrument) that we had on display to give people a taste of what they can see and do at the Centre. Our aim was to encourage more visitors to come along and try out the activities that we have on offer, and we were successful in that there was a buzz around the CAC. Hopefully some of these visitors will make it to the centre!

OPERAtion Classics presents: The Barber of Seville

OPERAtion Classics performed the Barber of Seville by Rossini at the CAC on the 21st April 2018. They were on tour from Nairobi, and did three performances in Arusha: in the TGT grounds, the Chai Bora Mansion, and in the CAC performance hall. The singers enjoyed singing in the CAC hall, as it is custom designed for musical performances, unlike the other places where they performed.