The Nile Project

The Nile Project

April 18, 2017, 7:30 pm
Seelos Theater, Kimball Hall
College of the Holy Cross

Co-sponsored by Africana Studies

Free and open to the public.  

“A committed, euphoric international coalition” — The New York Times

“From the playful swing of Sudan, to the sultry, funky grooves of Ethiopia, the more subdued colors of Egyptian art music, the musical colors speak for themselves.”
-- NPR

One of the tightest cross-cultural collaborations in history, the Nile Project brings together artists from the 11 Nile countries, representing over 400 million people, to make new music that combines the rich diversity of one of the oldest places on Earth. Resonant harps and lyres from up and down the river—from its sources beyond Lake Victoria to its delta in Egypt—have learned new musical modes, while buzzing timbres and ingenious polyrhythms support vocals in more than ten languages. Instruments that parted ways millennia before are reunited and pushed into new places. Love songs have crossed geographic and linguistic barriers to forge new, close friendships.

Using music to spark cultural curiosity, the Nile Project engages musicians and audiences, encouraging them to feel connected to the world’s longest river and to explore new approaches to its large-scale social, cultural, and environmental problems. The Collective’s collaborative model is a blueprint for a new way Nile Citizens can organize themselves to cooperate to make the Nile more sustainable. In an evolving series of interlocking programs that spring from the concert experience, the project aims to inspire, educate and empower young people worldwide to become Nile Citizens.

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