March 4 Music Program at the School

On Friday March 4th, the School Choir group presented the songs that we had prepared. The children sang: "This little light of mine," "Siyahamba," "Come and Go with me to that land," and "Oh Freedom." They will sing these songs again on a big school program on March 12th when there will be many visiting guests! Below, me conducting and Keith accompanying the kids on autoharp. Keith and I played some music for guests from the local union organization and for the school body. I sang "If Ever I would leave you" from Broadway as well as Handel's "Thus Saith the Lord." And I played Native flute, explaining that the instrument is from the "tribal" people of America. The children at the school are "tribals"--indigenous people of India. The children got a kick out of all the vocal runs in "Thus Saith the Lord" which occur on the text--"and I will shake." Keith explained to the children that the vocal runs would occur on the words "I will shake" and the children laughed when they heard the runs. Picture at bottom is of Babi, on the left, and Nikita on the right. Babi sings in the choir and plays harmonium! Nikita is one of the singers in the school Vocal Group. Nikita, a very talented singer, is eleven years old and is in the "5th standard" classroom. Perhaps this is equivalent to the fifth grade.

At this program on March 4th, we presented the gifts we will be leaving at the school--a collection of bamboo flutes for the student use, the autoharp Keith is playing, and a few picture story books featuring the words and music of John Denver which Keith and I have been using in the English class.