Haitian Rara band lead school workshops
Haitian band Rara Lakay arrived in the UK this week especially for the Night of Festivals 2012 event and kicked off the schools sessions in Nottingham.
The band by explained the context of the unusual rara music within the history of Haiti; then how melodies and rhythms are built up using with the particular instruments associated with Rara – drums and specially made Haitian cornets, with the addition of some other percussion. The participants aged between 9-11 and 11-14 joined in and gradually built up their own Rara sound and were delighted by the noise it was possible to produce whilst parading around the classroom making a mash of rhythms!
The innovative workshops have been programmed as part of the build-up to Night of Festivals 2012 and successfully united very different cultures in musical expression.
Rara Lakay will take part in the Carnival procession from Old Market Square in Nottingham on Friday 22 June – see route