Newsletter Volume 10.2

a newsletter of the
St. Louis African Chorus

Vol. 10 No. 2
Summer 2003

the VOICE OF
AFRICAN MUSIC
a newsletter of the St. Louis African Chorus

Songs of the
Sage

LIKE A SPIRIT

Music like a spirit permeates
And penetrates our psyche.
You can’t possess it;
It possesses you.

A musical work is a medium,
A token of our allegiance;
A symbol of our worship,
A sacrifice of our praise.

Music is not slave to traditions,
It enslaves the traditions;
Does not popularize the cultures,
It cultivates the peoples.

Music is a Spirit
Cloaked in many spirits,
Each with tailored design

Music like a spirit permeates
The universe, finds its course,
And entrances whom it desires...

What most demands our duty -
To make music at home, or
To make it for the public?

The answer floats in the wind:

Our homes crave our music;
It’s got its reasons.

Our communes yearn for our music;
Its got its reason, too.

Music is a Spirit...

- Eta Ivie
(partly adapted from Toko Kua-Nzambi's "Papyrus d'Artiste"

To reproduce or use contributions to this column, simply send an email to the Voice of African Music at voam@africanchorus.org, or a postcard to 634 N. Grand Blvd., Suite 1143, St. Louis, Missouri 63103 USA.

FRANCO-PHONE AFRICA:

The Choral Connection
Read feature on:
CHŒUR LA GRACE of Kinshasa
Julien Jouga Chorale of Senegal
Marcel Padey of Benin Republic

Old issues of the VOAM
Volume 10 No.1
Volume 9 No.1
Volume 8 No.2
Volume 8 No.1

Click here to send a tax-deductible contribution to support this newsletter, or for membership in the St. Louis African Chorus...

In This Issue
Toko
Kua-Nzambi
The Silent Choral Storm
in the Congo

Babatunde Olatunji dies at 76
Read more...

C. K. Adom: Tribute to a Friend
Read more...

Julien Jouga Chorale
Senegalese Choral Group Fills a Niche in Islamic Africa

African Choral Music Camps & Workshops

Calendar of SLAC Events

Live! at the Sheldon
First CD of the St. Louis
African Chorus

A E Na O
New CD of the St. Louis
African Chorus

MATESO!
New CD by the Muungano National Choir of Nairobi

MISSA LUBA:
A Review

the Voice of African Music
Editor: Fred Onovwerosuoke
Marketing: Asmeret Bezabeh
Contributors: Segun Leramo,Toko Kua-Nzambi, Olatunji’s photograph courtesy of Drums not Guns, http://www.drums.org/baba/
Design: African Greetings, Inc., a fund raising unit of the STL African Chorus.

For subscription send a postcard to:
the Voice of African Music
634 N. Grand Blvd.,Suite 1143,
St. Louis, MO 63103 USA.
Tel/Fax::(314)652-6800
Email: voam@africanchorus.org

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