Drumming Up Excitement
Being swept away by The West Liberty World Music All-Stars is to be expected. Through the buttery tones of steel pans and African drums, traditional music from Africa and the Caribbean will be brought to life on the Victorian Chautauqua stage for the July 9 closing performance. Under the direction of Dr. Mitch Greco, his 20-piece ensemble will drum up a concert of rhythm and music with instruments originating from far away lands.
This exciting musical and cultural program will showcase an aural and visual spectacle as you learn about the cultural history of the steel pan orchestra. The ensemble traces the origins of the steel band back to its roots in traditional West African music culture and the first music of the African diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago. Discover the beauty and versatility of fantastical percussive instruments. Drinking traditional Trinidadian calypso and soca, as well as rock and pop hits and even classical music, makes it difficult to remain seated.
For anyone wanting to learn more about African culture, an interactive workshop presented by the West Liberty University African Drum & Dance Ensemble will precede the concert. Directed by Dr. Mitch Greco, the audience will have an opportunity to play authentic instruments and learn about West African music and dance. The presentation will explore instruments used by the Ga ethnic group of southern Ghana. This unique music-culture fuses idiophone timeline instruments including gankogui, double-bell and the axatse rattle and drums played with hands such as the jembe and the kpanlogo. Experience and take part in the improvisatory and energetic nature of the music-culture through singing, clapping, drumming, and dancing. Comfortable clothing in which you can move around is highly recommended.
Meet Dr. Greco
Dr. Mitch Greco is Assistant Professor of Music and the Director of Percussion and World Music. He directs the Percussion Ensemble and Marching Hilltoppers Drumline, as well as the world music ensembles, which includes the Advanced and Beginner Steel Bands, the African Drum & Dance Ensemble, and occasional “special topic” ensembles.
While Africa's political and geographical boundaries are quite clear and precise, the culture of the continent has reached all corners of our world. The forced migration of Africans to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade would give rise to a dramatic change to music everywhere. The oral traditions of the African culture guaranteed their survival despite not being allowed to bring any possessions to the Americas. Several music genres and styles materialized among the African diaspora in the Western hemisphere, and West Liberty ensembles trace the origins of calypso and soca from Trinidad and Tobago.
The Gyil
Dr. Greco joins his ensemble on the gyil, the "grandfather" to the modern Western xylophone or marimba. Wooden planks are bound together over gourds and struck with mallets to produce different notes. The instrument can be found among the Dagara (Ghana), Sisala (Ivory Coast), and Birifor (Ghana and Burkina Faso) ethnic people.
Dr. Greco’s primary research focus is the pedagogy in world music ensembles and the cognitive processes in developing bimusicality (i.e. fluency in a second musical language). He is dedicated to respectfully playing and teaching non-western music traditions that provide musical and cultural experiences to American students and audiences. In the classical realm, his primary focus is solo and chamber literature for multiple percussion. Dr. Greco is currently the President of the Percussive Arts Society West Virginia Chapter and the West Virginia Representative for the National Society of Steel Band Educators. He is an active member of the Society for Ethnomusicology.
