In celebration of the 9th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days, Fairfield University's Bennett Center for Judaic Studies will present a musical performance and lecture entitled "From Ethiopia to America: The Music and Message of Alula" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.
The event, free and open to the public, is part of an international network of concerts using the power of music to reaffirm a commitment to tolerance and humanity, and honors the murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. A music lover and violinist, Pearl fostered understanding of different cultures through his work as a journalist.
Alula Tzadik is a Jewish Ethiopian songwriter and performer who sings in ten different languages and whose music is an expression of the many strands of his life and immigration from Ethiopia to Sudan, to Egypt, and, finally, to the United States. His songs contain Hebrew, Amharic, Latin, and German musical influences overlaid by American hip-hop and reggae.
Tzadik's visit to Fairfield coincides with the University's Global Citizenship initiative: As the complexities of globalization become apparent, the University has begun to explicitly orient itself toward the education and formation of students to be global citizens.
Ellen M. Umansky, Ph.D., director of the Bennett Center, said, "I see this event as a wonderful opportunity for all of us at Fairfield to learn from an artist whose life and music embraces so many diverse cultures."
The performance and talk - presented in collaboration with the University's Departments of Music, Sociology and Anthropology, and Religious Studies - will take place in the Wien Experimental Theater, located in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, on the Fairfield campus.
Submitted by Fairfield University
