A BIG heads up for this Friday, Nov. 6 and the film The Music Lesson at National Geogarphic. I saw this at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last February and it is a beautiful movie. Students from the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra are chosen to travel to Laikipia, Kenya, to meet students whose musical traditions have been passed down from tribal elders. The interaction between the students, the lessons they impart and their admiration for each other’s music form the basis of the film.
"It’s amazing how changed the kids were," director Ginny Galloway said at that time. "They really let their guards down–let go of their fears and got back to rhythm and the pulse of music."
She spoke of visiting the family of one of the young Kenyan musicians, and "even though it was a straw house with dirt floors, they took the same pride we do when someone visits. The only difference was they were moving the chickens and trying to dust the dirt floors."
Producer, Orlando Jones, who played the heroic bandleader Dr. Lee in Drumline, said the musical theme drew him to the project, as well as Galloway’s desire to form an exchange program such as this for a regular part of many school systems. Galloway says that many of the Boston kids still have Kenyan friends on Facebook, a true 2009 testament to friendship.
You can buy $5 tickets on Ticketplace! It's well worth it.
** the crossroads of culture and community in the Washington DC area **
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