Image map. Turn on images

VOICE OF THE TURTLE

ARTISTS-IN- RESIDENCE PROGRAMS

---–Lectures, Workshops, Coaching, Master Classes---

K-8, High School-University Level

 

In conjunction with a concert appearance for adult audiences,

Voice of the Turtle offers a variety of supplemental educational activities, including

lectures, workshops, and educational performances for young people.

The following describes some of these offering, with the option of customization for your community's needs.

 

LECTURE-DEMONSTRATIONS

(Suggested lecture time: 45 minutes - 1 hour)

For Departments Of Music, Ethnomusicology, Folklore and Ethnology

The Pleasures And Challenges of Oral Traditions

A representation of the process of research, arrangement and presentation of this unique repertoire which has been preserved by oral transmission. Examples of original sources are presented, as are aspects of the development of musical arrangement. We discuss:

a. the broad range of musical influences which affected this repertoire

b. the uses of instruments from the Near and Middle East, as well as those from Medieval and Renaissance Europe

c. our unique process of creating and evolving arrangements

Critical Listening Class

A lecture using musical examples to demonstrate the following concepts:

1. differences between western and eastern music

2. echoes of flamenco music in Judeo-Spanish musical traditions

3. Spanish folk song preserved by the Spanish Jews

4. Turkish folk song preserved and adapted by the Spanish Jews.

5. Bulgarian folk dance reflected in Judeo-Spanish repertoire

6. primitive chant reflected in Judeo-Spanish. repertoire

7. the medieval Spanish ballad preserved in exile for 500 years

8. modern compositions which evolved from all of the above.

Students of Ethnomusicology

A lecture/demonstration of techniques of research and of collecting folk materials. Source materials will be presented.

 

For Departments of Spanish, History, Literature

Pre-Expulsion Spain - an Aural Perspective

A unique approach to Spain prior to 1492 through the ears and eyes of the Spanish Jews, the Sephardim, who preserved their Spanish heritage and language, Judeo-Spanish (often called Ladino) for five centuries, in exile. Through analysis of the romancero, a body of ballads preserved by oral tradition, this performance/lecture offers insights into Spanish language, history, geography, folklore, linguistics and poetics.

Spanish civilization class

We perform and discuss a variety of old ballades whose texts reflected pictures of medieval Spain, including historical perspectives of the Moorish world. We also included some recent compositions which reflected the continuing attachment of the Spanish Jews to their historical homeland.

 

For Judaic Studies Departments

It Was Always a Time of Singing -- An Introduction to Sephardic Culture through Para-liturgical Musical Repertoire and Folktales.

A significant part of Sephardic repertoire includes songs and stories which refer to Jewish Holidays, to Biblical figures, and to cultural traditions as practiced by the Spanish Jews. This repertoire reflects the diverse cultural influences on the Sephardic diaspora -- the "paths of exile" -- as well as the unique central motifs of the Sephardim from the time of the Spanish Inquisition to the present.

Introduction to Jewish Holiday Musical Repertoire and Customs Unique to the Spanish Jews

Through the texts of songs preserved by oral tradition, a variety of observance is revealed which represent local and global Sephardic customs.

Introduction to Life Cycle Musical Repertoire

Music which accompanies and complements the significant moments of life from birth to death among the Spanish Jews.

 

For Women's Studies Departments

Kitchen Archivists: The Role of Sephardic Women in the Preservation of the Judeo-Spanish Musical Repertoire.

A performance lecture which reveals the processes by which the Sephardic women were "curators" of an intangible library of folk and para-liturgical traditions for 500 years in exile. The lecture explores music and folktales which were the particular domain of women, analyzing each from historical, sociological, personal and literary perspectives.

 

WORKSHOPS: High School - University

(The workshops can involve all, or some members of Voice of the Turtle)

Suggested workshop or coaching time: 2 class periods. (One hour at least).

Individual lessons or group coachings can be arranged for singers, solo instrumentalists, and mixed consorts on bowed and plucked strings, single and double reeds, flutes and percussion.

Students of arranging can analyze the wide variety of activities which are the processes of Voice of the Turtle, and are given the opportunity to work with source materials at the session(s).

Vocal coaching is available for singers, storytellers, actors.

 

EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCES for YOUNG PEOPLE (K-8)

General Young Audience Program

An Educational Performance is a concert presentation interspersed with dramatic narrative, and imaginative involvement of the audience. Age-appropriate programs provide a first encounter with the repertoire, or a synthesis or culmination of a focused study. The format and length of the activity is organized with each sponsor, according to the age level of the students, and their acquaintance with the subject.

The following concepts are addressed within the concert format:

    • A brief history of the Jews of Spain
    • An introduction to the process of oral tradition
    • An introduction to some holiday customs unique to the Sephardic Jews.
    • An introduction to old Spanish spoken before the expulsion in 1492.
    • A demonstration of historical and folk instruments.

Bilingual Children's Program (K-8) --(all narrative in English and Spanish).

Our children's program for a public school focuses upon the central concept that all Americans are immigrants, who came at different times from different cultures and remember the culture from which their families came in different ways. Our program content chooses songs about history, holiday celebrations, food, games and stories, while telling the story of one group of Americans, the Spanish Jews. We also use the unusually wide variety of instruments in our repertoire to dramatize the stories from the musical, historical and geographical perspective.

Poetry Class (5th -7th Grade; Advance Teacher involvement strongly suggested).

In this class we select 3 songs to present as a mini-concert, and then play a tune without revealing the words. The children are asked to write a poem based upon their reaction to this music. Our experience with this format has resulted in some of the most profound and astonishing poems.

Workshop For Teachers: "How Can You Use Our Repertoire In The General Curriculum?

We present a synopsis of some of our children's program, involving the teachers as if they were the children. We include our bi-lingual show as well as our regular program.

 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Voice of the Turtle needs the following for a concert presentation.

(Please note: These technical components are all critical elements in a concert presentation; all the musicians play and sing at the same time, and stand and sit at different times, depending upon the instrument they are playing).

Sound Enhancement

    • Four vocal microphones- all the same as each other
    • Four instrumental microphones- all the same as each other
    • Two monitors
    • Eight boom stands
    • Technician to run the system

Lighting

    • Should spotlight the performers and their instruments
    • Enable the musicians to see music or words

Lectures/Workshops/School Programs

    • At least one speaking microphone

Often, the local high-school or college has equipment available for use in the elementary schools for children's programs, or community events. The sound requirements will vary according to the size of the audience and the size of the room.

Please consult with us for further clarification. A more detail technical rider will be provided.