Music Department, Local Musicians Create Film to Benefit Japan Relief

To help the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan, Wesleyan graduate students Maho Ishiguro, Akiko Hakateyama, Ellen Loeck and Shoko Yamamoto arranged a benefit concert titled “Voices United.” Students and faculty from Wesleyan’s music department, and resident performers from the Middletown area, assembled at Crowell Concert Hall for an afternoon of music and dance performances.

The concert was filmed and will be available on DVD this month.

Eleven performances, which included different genres of music from 10 countries, were featured. Participating ensembles and musicians included Chinese Ensemble, Balinese Gender Ensemble, Carnatic Music Ensemble (Indian vocals), The Mixolydians (vocal ensemble singing Rennaisance madrigals), Slavei (vocal ensemble singing folk music from Eastern Europe), Collegium Musicum (vocal ensemble singing music from Medieval and Rennaisance periods), Kaze Taiko Ensemble, Ceol go Maidin (Irish traditional music), Green Street’s Fresh Obsessed (Breakdancing group), Andrew Colwell Mongolian Homii (Mongolian throat singer), and House of Moses (R&B music).

To order a copy of the DVD, send $15 to Jody Cormack, World Music Archives, Olin Library 252 Church Street, Middletown, CT 06459. Make checks out to The Japan Society New York, and write “Japan Earthquake Fund” in the memo. All proceeds go to the Japan Society where donations will be divided and sent to a number of relief agencies.