World on Stage Drum Concert Cleveland Cultural Gardens Centennial Plaza June 29, 2024
Every summer the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation hosts a series of free World on Stage concerts at the Centennial Peace Plaza on MLK Blvd. in Cleveland. The first concert of Summer 2024 was on June 29, 2024 and the focus was Percussion of the world. 4 diverse drum acts performed.
Some of the performers in the Centennial Plaza
The first performance was by Samba da Cidade (SDC), or "Samba of the City" in Portuguese. Samba da Cidade is a Cleveland-based samba school that brings together percussionists and dancers of all levels and ages to learn, play, dance, and perform samba and other rhythms inspired by the African Diaspora in Brazil, Cuba and elsewhere. Created and directed by Cleveland drummer and percussionist Dylan Moffitt (B. Mus., M. Mus., Cleveland Institute of Music), SDC is modeled after Rio de Janeiro's escolas de samba, the grass-roots organizations that prepare communities for the Carnaval parade.
SDC emerged in the summer of 2021, during the pandemic-induced isolation, when a handful of drummers began attending classes in Cleveland's Wade Oval park on Sunday evenings. What began as an effort to alleviate seclusion transformed into a thriving ensemble.
The next performance was by members of the Native American community. Robbi Swift from the local Native American community introduced 4 performers (one just turned 6 years old!) who sang and drummed to a "social" Native American song. The drums were handmade from elk, moose and deer. They then taught the audience a traditional dance and circled the Plaza with dancers.
The third performance was by the Korean American Pungmulnori Team performed Youngnam Samulnori. Pungmulnori is a Korean folk music tradition that is based on the farming culture. It was originally played in rural areas in community building events and harvest parties. Now it is a tradition that is celebrated all throughout Korea during national holidays like Chuseok and Korean New Years.
Drumming is the central element of pungmul. Each group is led by a (small handheld gong) player, and includes at least one person playing janggu (hourglass drum), one person playing buk (barrel drum), and one person playing jing (gong). Seouljanggu is a traditional Korean instrument that consists of two sided drums in an hour-glass shape. The drum is the symbol of balance and the rhythm is similar to Pangut.
The performers changed costumes in between songs.
Korean American Pungmulnori Team at World on Stage
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