Moises Silva ’16, a drummer in the World Music Percussion Ensemble, is used to seeing empty seats at the group’s termly performances. They seldom stay filled because audience members can’t help but stand and move to the energetic rhythms from across the globe. Silva hopes for a similar reaction at Friday’s Cuban-inspired concert, “Ritmos Suaves: Smooth Rhythm.”
“As a performer, you like to see the reaction from the crowd,” Silva said. “When you see somebody moving to what you’re playing it brings you joy, and it adds another layer to just playing music.”
The concert will offer a new perspective on Cuban music, director Hafiz Shabazz said. The program will demonstrate that Cuban music features a melodic component, amounting to more than loud, pounding rhythms.
“The rhythm is very strong, but it is not overpowering,” Shabazz said.
The program, he said, contains a tune for every mood, from sensuous love songs to spirited rhythmic pieces to thought-provoking “conscious-raising” melodies for the “body, mind and heart.” The concert will begin with some of these stimulating compositions, allowing audience members to hear for themselves how the rhythms and melodies interweave, Shabazz said.
As the concert continues, the music will progressively become more complex and fast-paced, Silva said. One of the more energetic pieces, Cal Tjader’s “Cubano Chant,” is a dance-oriented piece that he said will “definitely get the crowd going.”
During the first half of the term, the percussionists practiced unaccompanied by other instruments to master the rhythms and learn the tones, ensemble member Doris Pu ’14 said. With the performance fast approaching, the group has incorporated brass, woodwind and string instruments into their rehearsals, acclimating to the blend of sounds that the concert will feature.
Silva, who independently learned percussion without formal training, said that when he arrived on campus, he was nervous that he wouldn’t have the skills necessary to play at Dartmouth. However, Silva said Shabazz’s directing style made his transition smooth.
“It’s very educational,” Silva said. “Most of the time instead of being practice it’s more of a learning environment.”
The World Music Percussion Ensemble aims to entertain and educate, Silva said. Pu, who has played music from Latin America, South America, Africa and Asia with the ensemble, said that the group wants to expose its performers and audience members to different types of music.
“We’re the only group on campus that is devoted to non-Western music, so we’re interested in making it more accessible to people and spreading world music to people who might otherwise not hear it,” Pu said.
The 11 student performers will be accompanied by professional saxophonists, pianists and percussionists.
One of the performers is Cuban bandleader William Armando Rodriguez, the evening’s featured percussionist.
“[Rodriguez is] also a really good teacher,” Pu said. “He can work with students one on one to really help them hone in on a rhythm or just feel the music in a different way.”
Shabazz said that the time spent with guest percussionists serves as a rehearsal and a teaching experience.
The ensemble will also be accompanied by singers from the Handel Society during the concert, which will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday in Spaulding Auditorium.
