Music Sunday with Ysaÿe Barnwell Singing in the African American Tradition

Music Sunday with Ysaÿe Barnwell Singing in the African American Tradition

On Music Sunday March 31, Dr. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell was our was our honored guest musician and speaker.  She brought the congregation to gether to share the common experience of learning in the oral tradition and singing rhythms, chants, traditional songs from Africa and the Diaspora, and a variety of songs from African American culture including spirituals, ring shouts, hymns, gospels, and songs from the Civil Rights Movement.  She provided historical, social and political context to the songs, exploring from an African American worldview the values embedded in the music, the role of cultural and spiritual traditions and rituals, ways in which leadership emerges and can be shared by and among community members, the nature of cultural responses to and influences on political and social struggle, and the significance of a shared communal experience in one’s personal life. Dr. Barnwell is a master teacher and choral clinician in African American cultural performance. Her work in the field is a source of inspiration for singers and non-singers, educators, cultural activists and historians.