Music Bridges Cultures for EMU Group

by Jim Bishop

A life-changing learning experience in just over one week?

It appears to have happened to about 30 Eastern Mennonite University students during the school’s spring semester break.

A large student contingent opted to spend Mar. 1-9 in Sarasota, Fla., in search of sun and fun and to attend the annual "Sarasota Classic" that the EMU Royals men’s baseball team takes part in every year with three other colleges.

Meantime, about 30 EMU students journeyed even farther south.

Members of the Chamber Singers, a select student choir, and their director, Kenneth Nafziger, professor of music at EMU, spent the spring break in the island nation of Cuba. Nafziger’s main reason for returning this time was to guest conduct the Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional de Cuba in performing selections by U.S. composers.

Nafziger had led a group to Cuba several years ago, and in fact, had made 10 trips there since 1999. When his choral group learned of his plans to return this spring break, they adamantly declared, "We want to go with you!" And, they did, all at their own expense.

Chamber Singers members rehearsed during the week and gave a major concert at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Havana. They also sang during the Sunday worship service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in the city.

As a bonus, the entourage included Ysaye Maria Barnwell, a member of the renowned a cappella African-American group, "Sweet Honey in the Rock," based in Washington, D.C. did rousing solos during the Basilica concert.

She had been on EMU campus in January, and upon learning about the Chamber Singers’ plans to travel to Cuba, she asked Nafziger if she could go along at her own expense. "How do you refuse that?" Nafziger smiled.

During the week, students were exposed to choral music with a strong Latin-Cuban framework and the folk music of the streets at the same time.

"The significant thing about this experience is that it lies completely outside the regular curriculum, yet surpasses EMU’s cross-cultural requirements," Nafziger commented.

"The students were an energetic, outgoing bunch and quickly made many friends during the week," Nafziger said. "By staying in one location, the old Havana area, they got a more realistic understanding of what one piece of Cuba is like rather than rushing from one place to another.

"I decided that we’d have fewer performances and allow more time for the human to happen, and it did," he said, adding: Pulling a line from the hymn, "God of Grace and God of Glory," Nafziger noted that Cubans are "poor in things, but rich in soul. "I was impressed again with how starved musicians there are for contacts with what’s happening in the states," he said, adding: "Our interaction during the week reinforced my belief that music’s role is to build bridges between people."

Students were euphoric in their responses to the trip.

"What struck me immediately was the contrast between America’s preconception of Cuba and its people versus what we experienced firsthand," said Jon Trotter, an EMU junior communications major from Columbiana, Ohio. "Everywhere we went, people were so friendly and open. Cuba is a gorgeous country — the beach was great and the weather stayed in the 80 degree range."

A personal highlight for Trotter was going to a local jazz club and "just sitting there and taking in some amazing music."

Jason Garber, a sophomore economics and business administrator major from Hutchinson, Kan., expressed appreciation for the opportunity to "see the pluses and minuses of another economic system," along with the chance to use his two years of college-level Spanish in that setting.

"I visited an art museum, attended a baseball game and went to the beach," Garber said. But beyond that, a real highlight was "singing with and for other choirs and sharing music across language and culture," he said.

For Melinda R. Steffy, a senior congregational ministries major from Mechanicsburg, Pa., it was her third trip to Cuba. She was there three years earlier with a Chamber Singers group and returned last year as part of her cross-cultural semester.

"I really enjoyed getting to know a number of Cubans from different parts of society - choirs we sang with, a family who lived next to our hotel, people we met on the street," Ms. Steffy said. "At our concert at the end of the week, it was amazing to look at the audience and to feel like I had family there. They helped to make Cuba more real and meaningful and to keep the experience from being just a fun adventure.

"I talked to a woman about food in Cuba and the ration system and what things are hard to get and was reminded how privileged I am to not worry about food or other resources," she said. "It was another encouragement to me to live simply, respecting the needs of other people and using my time and resources in ways that work to reduce injustice."