Holly Loranger | May 15, 2020
We are pleased to announce the release of the 2019-2020 World View Global Music Fellows program materials. The Global Music Fellows program provided an immersive study of global music with a special focus on integrating music across the curriculum through the music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei.
Integrating global music into classroom instruction provides a gateway to exploring and connecting across cultures. Music has always been a vital part of human expression. It has the power to engage, motivate and inspire students and builds bridges between both what is familiar and what is unfamiliar. The integration of music across the curriculum enables students to engage in rich textual analysis of diverse, interdisciplinary primary source materials, as well as further develop global competency skills such as recognizing perspectives and communicating across cultures.
This interdisciplinary professional learning program enhanced Fellows’ global competency skills and expanded their pedagogical toolkits for integrating music into the curriculum. This program culminated in the creation of teaching toolkits with background information, lesson plans, learning activities and educator resources designed to integrate global music into K-12 and community college classrooms. The teaching materials accompany an original album, Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn, released by Smithsonian Folkways in April of 2020.
Throughout the program, the Fellows engaged in an intensive study of global music as well as strategies for integrating music across the curriculum. The program opened with an introductory workshop on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill in July 2019. During the fall and winter, the Fellows collaborated within the cohort and engaged in independent work, research and writing. The Fellows returned to the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill in January 2020 to participate in a workshop featuring a talk by Professor Tiber Falzett, UNC Visiting Lecturer of Scottish Gaelic Studies. Falzett’s talk, “The Chanter’s Song and the Drones’ Buzz: Bagpiping, Music and Language from the Local to the Transnational,” introduced the
Fellows to the diverse rhythms of local bagpiping traditions and the role bagpiping plays in creating a sense of place at the crossroad of language, music and human emotion. The workshop also provided an opportunity for a private discussion with and impromptu bagpipe performance by Galician bagpiper Christina Pato. Following the workshop, the Fellows attended a performance of Invisible(s) featuring Christina Pato and violinist Mazz Swift, hosted by Carolina Performing Arts.
Following the January workshop and performance, the Fellows continued to engage in ongoing communication and independent work, culminating in the publication of the teaching materials that are now available on World View’s website. These materials are designed to support educators in teaching and learning about the album, Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn and, more broadly, the Chinese and Appalachian folk music traditions connected to the guzheng and the banjo, the instruments played by Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei. The educator materials include background information, lesson plans, student learning activities and more. You can find the materials here.
The lessons and materials created by the World View Global Music Fellows represent a range of grade levels and disciplines.
K-5:
- “Cross Cultural Comparisons with Chinese, American and Indian Music” by Susan Azzu, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
- “Partner Song Creative Movement with ‘Water is Wide/Wusuli Boat Song’” by Leslie Roberts, Cabarrus County Schools
- “’Banjo/Guzheng Pickin’ Girls’: A Unit on the Exploration of Body Percussion” by Leslie Roberts, Cabarrus County Schools
- “Exploring the Intersection of Appalachian and Chinese Culture through the Music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei” by Candace Williamson, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
6-8:
- “Exploring Women’s Rights through the Music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei” by Brock Gerrity, Carteret County Schools
- “Exploring Women’s Rights Through the Song ‘Pretty Bird’” by Brock Gerrity, Carteret County Schools
- “Using ‘Water is Wide/Wusuli Boat Song’ to Explore Lullabies” by Karen Richardson, Durham Academy
- “Triple Meter & Quadruple Meter: Comparing and Combining them in Musical Compositions” by Karen Richardson, Durham Academy
- “Leaving Home: Journeys Across America and China” by Katharine Zamarra, Buncombe County Schools
9-12:
- “Remix” by Erica Hefner, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
- “Using STEAM to Depict the Meaning of the Music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei” by Joann Blumenfeld, Wake County Public Schools
- “Folk Music Beyond Boundaries” by Will Jung, Wake County Public Schools
Community College:
- “Shared Cultural Experiences” by Rick Laws, Wilkes Community College
- “Do You hear What I Hear?” by Judith Porter, Gaston College
- “It’s Your ‘Thang’: Creating Your Own Musical Instrument” by Judith Porter, Gaston College
- “Kodachrome: Capturing Life Through Music and Visuals” by Judith Porter, Gaston College
World View is thankful to the Fellows for their continued engagement throughout this program, as well as their creativity and perseverance in developing these materials despite the challenges posed by the current situation related to COVID-19. World View is also thankful to Carolina Performing Arts for their collaboration throughout this program and the Carolina Asia Center for their financial support. Finally, World View would like to express thanks to Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei for the opportunity to work with this unique album, their collaboration during this program and their inspiration in transcending boundaries and creating shared experiences across cultures.
We appreciate the interest, efforts and commitment to global education of the Fellows, as well as all the applicants. We encourage interested educators to apply for the 2021 World View Fellows Program: Exploring Indigenous Cultures. Program applications will open in the fall.