Baha'i Views

On the Celebration! Congo Choir: Their 2005 visit to Louis Gregory Baha'i Institute

noreply@blogger.com (George Wesley Dannells) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:47:00 +0000

This is a set of pictures of the Congo Choir taken of video footage recorded by Taraz Dannells when he was volunteering at the Louis Gregory Baha'i Institute in 2005. Louis Gregory was the home-base for the troupe for a week. Most of the footage is from their practicing at the Institute. I hope to convert the video to digital so it can be shared in its entirety on the Internet. This conveys just a taste of the spirit these Baha'is from the Congo brought to the Institute and surrounding area during their visit. They performed in schools local to Hemingway SC and also performed at the Kenedy Center. The program announcement of the latter performance is reposted below.

The Congo Baha'i Youth Choir sang at a devotional program at the base of the Terraces on Mount Carmel. It later evolved into the Celebration! Congo Choir which performed at The Kennedy Center in 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%c3%a1'%c3%ad_Faith_in_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

The Congo Choir is a troupe of 18 young adult singers, dancers and musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in Central Africa.

Celebration! Congo Choir is a compilation of songs and stories of peace and understanding using the troupe’s experiences as cultural backdrop. “Bomoko: An African Story of Unity in Rhythm and Song,” features a traditional choir format with vocals, percussion instruments, and colorful attire.

“Bomoko” (pronounced boh-MOH-koh) - from the Lingala language spoken in regions of the Congo - denotes the idea that “all are one.” Choir songs and music derive from the choir goal “to use performing arts to promote unity between tribes, races and communities.” The troupe performs under the tutelage of Congolese Choir Master Oscar Diyabanza Matusongwa, an expert on the fusion of traditional African rhythms, harmonies and instruments with contemporary Western influences in appealing modern arrangements. While serving as Artistic Director of the National Ballet in the nation formerly known as Zaire (now, DRC), he created three original ballets that toured Europe and Asia.

Celebration! Congo Choir is a project of the New Generation Media Initiative for Africa (NGMIA), based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Co-founded by Celebration! Congo Choir co-organizers Jason and Susan Sheper, NGMIA develops multi-media projects that are focused on encouraging and developing the capacity of youth and young adults in Central Africa. Chief among these is “Mon Village” (My Village), a pilot project integrating media production and broadcast programming, as well as educational materials and performances to serve children and their families.

Celebration! Congo Choir is an evolution of a youth choir that overcame imposing obstacles to participate in a Baha’i international music conference in Haifa, Israel, May 2001. Sponsors and in-kind support for the tour come from the U.S. and Canadian Baha’i community, non-profit arts organizations, and individual contributors. "

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=CELEBCONGO

Posted via email from baha'i music

On Istvan Dely's Manifesto: Reflections on the arts as powerful instruments to serve the Cause

noreply@blogger.com (George Wesley Dannells) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:28:00 +0000

My first and only real spiritual experience before becoming a Bahá’í had been within an African Traditional Religion in Cuba. My initiation into the Vititi Congo community was not an act of rational, intellectual choice, since I was a committed atheist communist at the time, a follower of the Che Guevara. It was a rapture of the heart generated by the tremendous power of the arts: the drumming, the singing, the dancing, the drama of the rituals, the emotional charge and group synergy, the loving and caring and joyful community.

http://www.divinenotes.com/books/wildfire/

Istvan Dely is a Baha'i revolutionary, a former communist and atheist, who went to school in Cuba, and who heard of the Baha'i Faith in Columbia. And this is his manifesto, available for free download. And it is all connected to the Institute Process.

LESSON ONE: THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC “In this Cause the art of music is of paramount importance” - Abdul’-Bahá
LESSON TWO: GOOD, NEUTRAL, AND BAD MUSIC
We have learned that music is a means that can be used for good as well as evil. It is like a ladder on which our souls may go upwards into light or descend into darkness.
LESSON THREE: BAHÁ’Í MUSIC?
Before we go into this lesson, answer this question: Is there such a thing as Bahá’í Music? Yes ______ No________
LESSON FOUR: UNITY IN DIVERSITY
Although, in Shoghi Effendi´s words, the friends are free to compose music as their talents guide them, there are also strong indications in the Writings that the starting point, the first step on the positive side of the ladder, should be each region’s own traditional music, its folklore or popular music.
LESSON FIVE: COMMUNAL MUSIC
in which all of us can participate without exception
LESSON SIX: SACRED MUSIC
The highest step on the ladder of music is sacred music, the music of worship where we “try to bring the earthly music into harmony with the celestial melody.”(Abdu´l-Bahá)
LESSON SEVEN: CULTURE AND RELIGION
The spiritual need to worship God is a universal characteristic of man, but the ways to give expression to this need vary greatly from culture to culture, from one spiritual tradition to another.
LESSON EIGHT: IN ALL BAHÁ’Í GATHERINGS
On what occasions should we make use of music in the course of our Bahá’í life and work? Shoghi Effendi states: “The element of music is, no doubt, an important feature of all Bahá’í gatherings.”
LESSON NINE: MUSIC AS A TEACHING TOOL “… the arts are powerful instruments to serve the Cause…” The Universal House of Justice

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On Baha'i-Related Endeavors Advertising on the Net: Targeting Baha'is

noreply@blogger.com (George Wesley Dannells) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:53:00 +0000

It is one thing to put up a site for a Baha'i-related endeavor on the net and have that site featured on other sites. It is another to advertise a Baha'i-related endeavor on the net. The Internet offers the ultimate in advertising targeting. Here are just a few Baha'i-related endeavors that are showing up in Google advertising on pages I have visited. How much money is spent in targeting to Baha'is on the Internet, I wonder?

Joon Baby Designs - Baha'i greeting cards and more... Custom designs for all occasions. www.joo nbaby.com

Baha' I at Amazon [not even spelled right!]

Baha'i Counseling - Baha'i Therapist. Phone sessions. Uplift, Resolve, Empower now. eqeducation.com

BahaiPilgrims.com - Community of Baha'i Pilgrims. Learn about Pilgrimage from Baha'is. bahaipilgrims.ning.com

Antipodean Bahá'í Studies- Bahá'í studies. Bahá'í research.

Bahá'í history. Bahá'í bibliography. www.abs.org.nz

Baha'i Jewelry Store - 10% of sales go to Mona Foundation. Jewelry with Baha'i Symbol Design. www.bahairingstone.com

Baha'i Views

On the Celebration! Congo Choir: Their 2005 visit to Louis Gregory Baha'i Institute

On Istvan Dely's Manifesto: Reflections on the arts as powerful instruments to serve the Cause

On Baha'i-Related Endeavors Advertising on the Net: Targeting Baha'is

On a Taxonomy for Baha'i-inspired Music: For what core activity is it well-suited?

On Juxtaposition of Words and Images: Associating the Writings of the Faith with your creative endeavors on Flickr

On Bringing Thyself to Account: I became a Baha'i, despite every mess that would hold me back

On the Birth and Death of Jesus Christ: May we, likewise, offer ourselves in the threshold of sacrifice for the betterment of the world

On Posing the Question at Baha'i Study Circle, Are We Human or Are We Dancers: And Kim's Killer Cookies

On a Similarity Between The Garden of Eden Story and The Persian Hidden Word #19

On Seasons Greetings: UnitedWay PSA Commercial uses quote from Baha'i writings

On an In Memoriam: In 1931 he fell in love with surfing, spending many long hours catching waves on longboards

On Changing Thoughts, Changing Feelings: CBT, Cognitive Baha'i Therapy

On December Dilemmas and February Opportunities: Candy canes are confused by Ayyam-i-Ha

On Listening to a 25 Year Old Talk That Sounds Like It Was Given Yesterday: Taherzadeh, Alaska, 1984

On What Montazeri Would Wish to Be Remembered By: Protecting the rights of Iranian citizens, including Baha'is

On Organic Growth: Qualitative always precedes quantitative growth

On the Singapore Baha'i Youth Camp: Dawnbreakers, set it off

On Singing Was the Easy Part:: How the Baha'i Faith helped Vic Damone thru life's problems

On Baha'i Pioneers Decades Later: Bolivia as a training ground

On Being 100% Baha'i: Not that I practice Baha'i faith or even know what it is

On Posting on Posterous: This other blog

On Posting on Posterous: Quarterly numbers

On NOT Elevating the Discourse of Society: Lou Dobbs Talks One World Government, The New World Order & Copenhagen

On Devotions at Rocky's This Time: The Covenant and cornbread

On Learning How to Line Up: During a Ruhi Book 3 refresher Baha'i tutors put it all on the line