The Nile Project Study Guide

ovations offstage
presents
A Study Guide for the
School-Time Performance
Monday, April 13, 2015 10 am
60 minute performance
Merrill Auditorium, Portland
Study guides are also available
on the Portland Ovations website at
http://portlandovations.org/offstage/study-guides.shtml
Welcome to Portland Ovations
Each year since 1931, Portland Ovations has brought a dynamic season of exceptional performing artists to
Portland, Maine, including classical music, jazz, opera, dance, theater, and Broadway.
Portland Ovations…
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believes that cultural enrichment should be accessible to all
provides quality live performances and education experiences
engages our community with integrity and compassion
collaborates with other arts organizations, nonprofits, education systems
and the business sector to promote cultural enrichment and lifelong learning
celebrates the power and virtuosity of the performing arts
sustains a staff and board who are thoughtful, committed, enthusiastic and
fiscally responsible
In addition to live performances, we bring the exhilaration of the performing arts out into our community with
season-long educational and outreach programs called Ovations Offstage.
Ovations Offstage creates those magical resonating moments when artists and audiences connect. Whether it’s
an unexpected “art happening,” a workshop or masterclass with a visiting artist, a lively community discussion,
or a pre-performance lecture, Portland Ovations invites you to join us as we explore together the relevance and
connection of the performing arts to our lives.
Acknowledgements
Portland Ovations Offstage is grateful to the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc.; and the Maine Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry for use of their educational materials in compiling this resource. Ovations
Offstage is made possible in part with support from Travelers, TD Bank, Gorham Savings Bank, Center for
Cultural Exchange Foundation, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Sam L. Cohen Foundation, National Endowment for
the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts and Culture Club Portland.
SAVINGS BANK
The Nile Project Study Guide
This guide includes information about The Nile Project; contextual background about the art form; broader
cultural and literary connections; suggested activities designed to engage and sustain your students’ interest
before, during, and after the show; as well as a number of resources to help you extend your discussions. Also
included are connections to Common Core State Standards.
Use this guide to help your students anticipate, investigate, and reflect upon your live performance experience.
Common Core State Standards and ME Learning Standards:
Reading Standards for Informational Texts: 1-3
Writing: 1-3
Speaking & Listening: 1-2
Language: 1-2
Visual & Performing Arts: A.1-2, B.2, D.1, E.1, 4-5
One-hour in-school workshops are available!
Offstage educators can bring this Study Guide to life and prepare your students for their fieldtrip to Hannaford
Hall. Workshops are $100 per classroom.
To schedule a workshop or to share your thoughts and suggestions, please contact us:
[email protected] or call 207-773-3150.
About “The Nile Project”
The Nile Project curates cross-cultural collaborations
among musicians from the Nile region. In order to
foster cultural connection among the people living
along the river to help tackle regional water-based
environmental challenges. Inspired by Yoyo Ma’s Silk
Road Project, Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis
and Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter Meklit
Hadero developed the Nile Project as a platform to
spread environmental awareness and inspire change
among Nile citizens.
The Nile Project features musicians from the river’s
11 countries (Congo DRC, Berundi, Rwanda, Uganda,
Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan,
and Egypt). These concerts are designed to inspire
audiences to learn more about their ecosystem and their neighbors.
Mina Girgis is an Egyptian ethnomusicologist and arts entrepreneur based in San Francisco, CA. He is the
cofounder of the Nile Project and the founder and Executive Director of Zambaleta, a nonprofit community world
music school located in San Francisco.
Meklit Hadero is a critically acclaimed Ethiopian-American singer, musician and cultural activist based in San
Francisco, CA.
The Nile Project’s unique sound comes from intensive musical residencies, gathering the musicians together for
weeks to learn from one another and translate that experience into collectively composed new musical works.
A powerful pan-Nile percussion section drives this orchestra of Ethiopian masenko and saxophone, Egyptian
ney, oud, violin, simsimiya, and tanbura, and Ugandan adungu, bass guitar, and six vocalists singing in 11 different
languages.
The Musicians
Below is a list of the musicians in The NILE Project, their instrument and where they are from.
Visit http://www.nileproject.org/musicians/ for detailed biographies!
Alsarah vocals from Sudan
Dina el Wedidi vocals from Egypt
Selamnesh Zemene vocals from Ethiopia
Meklit Hadero
vocals
from Ethiopia
Sophie Nzayisenga
ingaga/vocals
from Rwanda
Mohamed Abozekry
oud/vocals
from Egypt
Jorga Mesfin
tenor sax
from Ethiopia
Nader El Shaer
kwala/ney
from Egypt
Dawit Seyoum
krar/bass krar
from Ethiopia
Steven Sogo
ikembe/guitar/bass/vocals
from Burundi
Michael Bazibu
adungu/entongoli/endingidi/amadinda
from Uganda
Hani Bedair
percussions
from Egypt
Kasiva Mutua
percussions/vocals
from Kenya
Resources for Further Exploration
Books available at the Portland Public Library:
Up River: The Story of A Maine Fishing Community by Olive Pierce
For Students
http://www.gma.org/lobsters/index.html
http://www.gma.org/marinemammals/index.html
http://www.gmri.org/education/resources.asp
For Teachers
http://m.presumpscotriver.org/
Our Mission: To protect and improve the water quality, indigenous fisheries, recreational opportunities and natural
character of the Presumpscot River.
www.Clearwater.org
Pete Seeger launched the sloop Clearwater in 1969 to clean up the Hudson River.
Clearwater’s longtime strategy of inspiring, educating and activating people is still a powerful formula for
success. Utilizing the greatest natural resource in the region–the Hudson River–Clearwater has become the
grassroots model for producing changes to protect our planet.
www.GMRI.org
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s innovative educational programs ignite the curiosity, ambition, and
problem-solving potential of our next generation. They connect scientific discovery to the region’s rich natural
resources, the issues that impact students’ daily lives, and the local scientific community
http://www.fbes.org/
Ferry Beach Ecology School (FBES) has brought innovative ecology education programs to thousands of
children and adults throughout New England. In everything we do we accentuate the magic, mystery and wonder
of nature so that students can better understand and care for the environment.
http://www.sacorivercouncil.org
The Saco River Recreational Council’s mission is to promote, manage and provide education that ensures sound
recreational practices to protect the Saco River Recreational Corridor.
http://vitalsignsme.org/
Invasive species threaten Maine’s native species and natural resources. This daunting environmental challenge
provides a rallying point for today’s digital learners. Vital Signs leverages Maine’s laptop program to enable
thousands of middle school students to participate in a statewide effort to find invasive species, and to
document those native species and habitats most vulnerable to future invasions.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Throughout history, music has been a catalyst for change, a
medium for protest and a way to deliver a message of hope.
Clearwater’s founder, Pete Seeger, has always understood this
and music and activism have been at the core of Clearwater’s
culture from the very beginning. In Seeger’s capable hands, from
the Forties to the present day, a concert wasn’t regarded as a
one-way proceeding, but a group sing-along. Hudson River Sloop
Clearwater began with music as its foundation and at its core, and
believes that music and the arts are a powerful way to inform and
inspire participation in creating our future and the next generation
of environmental leaders. Through song and participation,
Clearwater works to carry forward Pete Seeger’s legacy of
activism and cause music
The sloop Clearwater is recognized as America’s Environmental
Flagship and is among the first vessels in the United States to
conduct science-based environmental education aboard a sailing
ship, creating the template for environmental education programs
around the world.
Today, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. and the iconic
sloop Clearwater are carrying forward Pete Seeger’s legacy by
partnering with Hudson Valley schools and community leaders
to raise the bar of environmental education and encouraging
youth to become involved as active stewards of their environment
and the Hudson River. Through the organization’s multiple environmental education programs, youth
empowerment programs, environmental action campaigns, Green Cities initiatives, and unique approach
to public outreach, the sloop Clearwater is recognized as a symbol of grassroots action through hands-on
learning, music, and celebration.
(http://www.clearwater.org/about/the-clearwater-story/)
Music and Media about Pete Seeger and the Hudson River
Tomorrow’s Children
‘Til the River Runs Clear, DVD
Pete Seeger: the Power of Song, DVD
Broad Old River 2, by the Hudson River Sloop Singers
Presumpscot River Preserve
The Presumpscot River flows from Sebago Lake to its outlet at Casco Bay. In 2001 Portland Trails and the City
of Portland Landbank Commission teamed up with the state’s Land for Maine’s Future program to save this
beautiful piece of land by creating a 48-acre public nature preserve. This exceptionally beautiful trail follows a
deep ravine away from the residential neighborhood and into the Preserve.
http://trails.org/our-trails/presumpscot-river-preserve/
Forests are critically important to the supply of clean drinking water in the Northeastern Area states. The
public generally is unaware of threats to their water supplies or the connection between clean water and
healthy forests in source watersheds. The future security of water supplies cannot be ensured by focusing
on water treatment alone. Protecting and managing forests in source watersheds is an essential strategy for
providing clean, safe, affordable drinking water. The “Forests, Water and People Assessment” identified Maine’s
Presumpscot River watershed as a priority for forest land conservation based on the percent of unprotected
private forest lands within the watershed, its importance to public drinking water supplies, and the forecast
high rate of development pressure by 2030.
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/projects/presumpscot/index.html
Presumpscot River Watershed Project
Musical Instruments from The Nile
Masenko
Origin: Ethiopia
Description: Single-stringed bowed lute
Family: String
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrqrC0ILGas
http://www.ethiograph.com/video/watch.php?vid=b2deb83c6
Ney
Origin: Egypt
Description: End-blown flute
Family: Woodwind
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR3ozpX-chE
Oud
Origin: Egypt
Description: Pear-shaped stringed instrument
Family: String
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9dqUXO4vA4
Simsimiyya
Origin: Egypt
Description: Traditional plucked lyre
Family: String
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1d2vmAWqyw
Tambura
Origin: Egypt
Description: Long-necked stringed instrument
Family: String
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CnhcGpmH9Y
Adungu
Origin: Uganda
Description: An arched harp of varying dimensions, ranging from
seven to ten strings or more.
See and hear the instrument played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjaFy0J5NUE
Theater Etiquette
Audience members play a special and important role in the performance. The performers are very aware of
the audience while they perform and each performance calls for different audience responses. Lively bands,
musicians and dancers may desire audience members to clap and move to the beat. Other performers require
silent focus on the stage and will want an audience to applaud only when they have completed a portion of their
performance. As you enjoy the show, think about being a part of the performance.
•
What are the differences between attending a live performance and going to a movie or watching
television?
•
What are some different types of live performances? Name a few as a class.
•
What kind of responses might an audience give in each circumstance?
•
What are the different cues that a performer will give you so that you know how to respond? For
example, might they bow or pause for applause?
Also, remember that a theater is designed to magnify sound and even the smallest whispers or paper rustling
can be heard throughout the auditorium. You are part of a community of audience members and you all work
together to create your theater experience.
Student Response Form
Show: The Nile Project, April 13, 2014
School name:
Grade:
Tell us what you thought! Teachers, please
guide your students through this form.
Students may write and/or draw pictures
to respond to the performance.
What did the show make you think about? How was it different from other kinds of entertainment or art that
you have seen before (movies, television, plays, concerts, etc.)? Tell us about a moment you found surprising or
especially interesting.
How did you connect ideas in the performance to ideas or realities in your own life? In your school work? In the rest
of the world?
What did you really like or really dislike about the show? Why did it stand out for you?
If you were trying to encourage another student to come and see this show, what would you tell them about it?
Do you have any other comments or suggestions?
Please sign and print your name below to give Portland Ovations permission to use your comments in future promotions
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Teacher Response Form
Show: The Nile Project, April 13, 2014
School name:
Grade(s) of students:
What made this a valuable experience for your students?
(If it wasn’t, why not, what can we do better?)
Please take a few moments to fill out and
return this form after the performance.
Your response to our School-Time
Performance Series helps us plan for the
future. Include any comments from class
discussion as well!
How did this live performance connect to or enhance your curriculum?
If you used this guide… did the study guide help you in preparing for and reflecting upon the performance with your
students? Why or why not? OR if you knew about the guide but opted not to use it, tell us why you chose not to use
it. (We want to design the guides so that they are helpful tools for teachers—your feedback is key!)
Tell us about planning the trip: How did you hear about this School-Time Performance? How was the process when
arranging transportation?
Tell us about the trip itself: How was the arrival and dismissal process? Were all of your specified seating needs met?
What types of performances would you like to see in the future? (topics/themes, genres, specific artsists, etc.?)
A number of generous individuals and organizations make it possible for us to offer these School-Time Performances
at extremely discounted rates. Is there anything you’d like them to know in terms of your experience or its impact on
your class?
Please sign below if Portland Ovations has our permissions to use any of your comments in future promotions.
Mail responses to:
Ovations Offstage, 50 Monument Sq, 2nd Fl., Portland, ME, 04101