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| Berklee college of music releases Darfur CD On October 3, Berklee will release We Are All Connected: Berklee College of Music Reaches Out to the Women of Darfur, a collection of r&b, soul, jazz, pop, world, and gospel songs written, performed, and produced by Berklee students, faculty, staff, and alumni to raise awareness of the plight of women and children affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit Mercy Corps' Darfur Fund. We Are All Connected is the culmination of a collaborative effort engaging many members of the Berklee community. Early in 2005, a delegation of prominent Boston-area women traveled to Sudan with Mercy Corps to learn about violence towards women as part of war. During the trip, the delegation heard firsthand accounts of the violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions to camps, ripping families apart and leaving women and children homeless, hungry, cold, and in personal danger. "The humanitarian situation today in Darfur is desperate, and relief needs remain enormous, " said Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer, who himself has traveled to Darfur several times since the current crisis unfolded. "But even in the world's toughest places, music has power to heal and create connections of caring." The Boston delegation took with them to Darfur two songs: "We Are All Connected" and "To The Sudanese Women" written and performed by Berklee students Andrea Whaley and Farah Siraj. These songs, the result of a Berklee songwriting competition, were produced specifically for the trip and presented to the Darfurian women as a musical gift from their sisters a world away. The music was played for women in the camps on a laptop—a device that many of them were seeing for the first time. Upon hearing the two songs, the Darfurian women leapt to their feet and began trilling and singing in jubilant musical response. That outpouring of emotion was recorded in the field and brought back to Berklee, inspiring the group to take action to produce a full-length CD — including the initial two songs — with the goal of raising awareness and funds for Mercy Corps' Darfur relief efforts. Submissions for We Are All Connected were solicited through another songwriting competition open to Berklee students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The participants were encouraged to use the field recordings of the Sudanese women as inspiration, and their voices can be heard throughout the CD. Guest artists appearing on the compilation include Meshell Ndegeocello, Abe Laboriel, Sr., Vinnie Colaiuta, and Jamey Haddad. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |