Ensemble Noir -
Bridging
Cultural & Musical Divides
by Karen Ages
One doesn’t usually
associate the
continent of Africa with classical music, and probably even less so with
contemporary “classical” music. But Ensemble Noir is seeking to dispel some of
the notions surrounding these issues. Formed four years ago in Toronto, this
professional ensemble is dedicated to the performance and promotion of
contemporary music from a range of cultures, with an emphasis on the works of
African composers. I spoke with musical director Bongani Ndodana, himself an
award-winning internationally known composer and conductor. “I just want to
clarify...we’re more than just an ensemble; we’re an ever-evolving
organization, and advocacy is a huge and crucial part of what we do. We are
trying to shoot down all of these myths about black people, Africa and
classical music, classical music and people of colour in general, debugging
this whole notion that only dead white people write classical music.”
I asked Bongani, who was born in
South Africa in 1975, what it was like growing up under apartheid, and how this
affected the musical education he received. “Apartheid in South Africa was a
horrible thing, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone”, he says, shaking his
head. “Loads of doors were closed, but I was fortunate to have been born to a
family that could afford to send me to a private school, where there were loads
of opportunities. I couldn’t borrow a book from the public library, or go to a
white beach, but the apartheid laws didn’t apply at privately funded
institutions. There were only a handful of black kids at the school, and we
knew how privileged we were to be there, coming at a great sacrifice to our
parents.”
The school, St. Andrew’s, in
Grahamstown, had a thriving music department, chamber orchestras and wind band.
“I played French horn, viola, piano and organ; it was a school with a deep
Anglican tradition. I went to chapel, was a treble at one stage. I grew up with
this wonderful tradition of English cathedral music, Stanford, Parry, and all
these people.”
And what of the music of
your own culture? I asked. “I had no exposure to African music in my training.
This was a process of self discovery. If you grow up black in South Africa there’s
a lot of music that’s passed down. I remember songs from my grandmother and
these form the bedrock of some of my musical ideas. Also, down the hill from
St. Andrew’s was this gargantuan place called the International Library of
African Music, a repository of field recordings collected by ethnomusicologist
Hugh Tracy and his son, and as a teenager I would spend my afternoons there
listening to music from Senegal, Gambia, Mali, etcetera, so I got immersed in
the greater collective of African music beyond my own culture.”
After completing a Bachelor
of Music at Rhodes University (Grahamstown), he was given a scholarship to
study composition at Stellenbosch University (near Capetown), and was later
awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship which brought him to the US to do a
residency with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, where he wrote his Second
Symphony. He then moved to Chicago, was involved in various projects and
commissions, and was invited to Toronto to work on a dance project at
Harbourfront.
That is how his connection
with this city and the evolution of Ensemble Noir began. He describes himself
as one of three “pillars” in Ensemble Noir. Dr. Ken Lipinski, a passionate arts
advocate with connections to South Africa, and Patricia Clark who had set up
other groups in Toronto were instrumental in its creation. While there may have
been occasional performances of music by African composers here and there,
“there was no one anywhere doing a season of this stuff, no one doing this on a
focused level. Toronto is one of the places that allows this kind of thing to
happen, because there is so much multiculturalism here.”
In July 2003, Ensemble Noir,
sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
embarked on a tour to Africa, the first by a Canadian classical ensemble. “We
think nothing of sending arts groups to Europe, but when it comes to Africa,
all we usually think of is dropping
bags of rice. There hasn’t been much thought that perhaps they could also
benefit from intellectual and cultural exchange.” The group toured Ghana,
Nigeria and South Africa where they were enthusiastically received. In Ghana,
they performed works by Ghanaian composer and ethnomusicologist J.H. Kwabena
Nketia which incorporate folk songs. Hearing these familiar tunes played on
western instruments and with such respect,
“audience members reacted with ‘wow, our music is good enough to be like
Beethoven or Mozart’ which is sad, really,” says Bongani, “that they need this
kind of validation. In Nigeria, we played works by Akin Euba (a Nigerian now
teaching in Pittsburgh), and for them it was ‘wow, this local boy has become a
wonderful composer’... they were hearing his latest compositions and the head
of the music society of Nigeria came up to me and said ‘I can tell you stories
about Akin when he was this high!’ To them it was also a validation of the
training that they had and all the people they had produced who went to England
and the States.”
I asked Bongani about the
reception in South Africa, where classical music is standard. “There, the
concert-going crowd is white, and they go to hear Beethoven, Brahms and the
like; so we’re there, this group of Canadians of mixed backgrounds, and they’re
gasping ‘oh my god...black people...’ and they loved it! It’s a matter of
showing them what’s in their own backyard. We had a standing ovation in
Capetown.” They also performed works by Canadians Parmela Attariwala (who
played violin on the tour), Bob Becker, and Alexina Louie. “The emphasis is
really on diversity.”
Ensemble Noir’s new season, titled “Sonic
Revival”, will feature new music from Asia, Africa, Canada and elsewhere, will
include a collaboration with composer/pianist/theorist Martin Scherzinger
(formerly of the Eastman School of Music) and his Rochester-based ensemble, and
a dance work with music by Ndodana. Their first concert, November 13, is a
private affair for corporate sponsors (due to space limitations of the venue);
the official opening of the new season is January 22, a concert that will
feature works by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kevin Volans and Toronto’s Alice Ho, in
an “Africa meets European avant-garde meets Asia” program. “You can’t program
(African) Kevin Volans without programming his teacher Stockhausen,” says
Bongani. “In keeping with the commitment to developing cultural diversity in
music and promoting the creation of new repertoire, we are also launching our
first worldwide call for scores from young composers who express cultural
diversity in their works.” Congratulations to Bongani and Ensemble Noir for
what they have accomplished so far, and best wishes for an exciting future!
