Building Bridges Through Song
Bill Eville
Thursday, December 13, 2018 - 1:47pm
Roberta Kirn finds songs wherever she goes, a wandering minstrel for music as part of her Song Exchange Project. Her method is to travel the world where she knows people and have that person seek out the local music scene. But songs can also be found in the most unlikely places.
"About five years ago I learned a song in an orphanage in Haiti from a four-year-old girl, sung in French Creole," Ms. Kirn said.
But Ms. Kirn isn't just looking for music to listen to. She is on a mission to collect and share songs from around the world with the world. On Tuesday, Dec. 18, she brings these songs home to the Vineyard for her annual Songs of Peace, Hope and Light.
The show is part concert, part sing-a-long, with songs representing South Africa, India, the U.S. and Brazil and are in English, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese and Punjabi. Because the songs are sung in their original language and can be quite complicated, some will feature the Martha's Vineyard choir, which Ms. Kirn first organized 18 years ago, accompanied by musicians Paul Thurlow, Brian Weiland and Mark Hurwitz. The audience will be invited to join in on about half the songs. The show takes place at the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center and begins at 6 p.m. It runs about an hour and is free.
This is not another holiday concert, Ms. Kirn stresses. "I wanted it to be unusual songs for this time of year when darkness descends."
When collecting songs for the Song Exchange Project, Ms. Kirn doesn't always have to travel aboard. "This year I've been up at Maclean Hospital a lot and many of the people who work there are part of the African diaspora," she said.
Ms. Kirn shared songs she has collected from her trips to Africa with the workers and they shared their songs in return. The experience has prompted her to look for project partners to continue this work, visiting hospitals and other businesses, helping bring people together through the shared experience of song.
"It's easy and you don't have to talk a lot. You just connect. It's good for our emotional and physical health."
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