by James Collins
Aside from the National Championships, I haven’t gotten to see many performances from the bands I’ve been working with. The field bands are often hired to play at weddings, parades, sporting events and other community functions, but I’ve spent most of my time at rehearsals in the schoolyards. Recently, however, I’ve been lucky to catch a few shows and it’s been great to see how much of an impact the bands can have on their communities. I loved seeing the way the kids express themselves in a performance setting and I’m excited now about how I can help them to improve further.
Here is a clip from a performance I attended in Port Elizabeth. The band marched for the reopening of a major road that had recently undergone some renovations. One piece they played really got the crowd going. There are certain songs in South Africa that just seem to get everyone singing and dancing.
This next clip is from a performance in Stellenbosch (just outside of Cape Town). Assembling the steel drums and marimbas from two field bands in the area, they call this group the “jazz band”. The performance was for a school board event announcing the opening of several new focus schools in the community.
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The views and information presented are the Fulbright grantee’s own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
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