Bethan at the House of Bethan is moving house, in a virtual sense, and talks of closing doors and saying farewell to important rooms in our lives.
With her words on my mind, I decided to close the door on my birthday season with a photo of the birthday card that Megan chose for me. It’s delightful and reminds me of the happiness that Megan is experiencing now she can be outdoors enjoying the beauty of Bloomington. Her winter room time is over.
Blossoms from Bloomington
And, in a really large segue, Megan’s card leads me into my next section, which is a celebration of New Zealand Music Month . How, you may ask, shaking your heads in bewilderment? Well, Bloomington, home of Megan, has some lovely connections with New Zealanders and their love of music.
For instance; there’s New Zealand born Matthew Leese, baritone and conductor, who earned his Master of Music degree in Early Music from Indiana University in Bloomington.
And, then, there is New Zealander Michael Duff who works in Bloomington and is ‘saving’ the world of music and the Music Tree (the pernambuco), one Berg Bow at a time.
And, then, comes the annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival which is held in downtown Bloomington and, last year, featured the Pacific Curls ; ‘ the high energy trio of Kim Halliday, Ora Barlow, and Jessie Hindin ( who deliver) an eclectic and progressive mix of world roots music with Māori, Pacific and Celtic influences.’
Closer to home, as in closer to my home in Christchurch, there is performer and teacher Valerie Wycoff who has a Master of Music in Opera Performance from Indiana University , and who has been educating our young ones at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA) for over 10 years.
And I am sure there are many more of us in New Zealand who have associations with, or have benefited from, the music, theatre and performance that are nurtured in Bloomington, Indiana.
Perhaps, one day, Bloomington will host some of the fine singers who participated last year at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ The Big Sing.
I love this piece by Dilworth’s Fortissimo at The Big Sing. It thrills my heart.
I don’t have a translation for the song but I don’t think that matters. The language of song and music seems to be universal, with very few barriers; it opens more doors than it closes.
So welcome, come on in and listen:
listen to this non-New Zealand choir, at Slovakia Cantat 2012, singing the beautiful Maori song, Nga Iwi E, by Hirini Melbourne. This song begins All you people! All you people! Be united as one, like the Pacific Ocean
(Nga Iwi E was apparently adopted by Greenpeace and sung on board the Rainbow Warrior during its protest against French Nuclear Testing at Mururoa Atoll. Maybe we can sing it next for the pernambuco 🙂 )
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