(Video Credit: Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University)
The concert called ‘Songs of Many Lands’ is an annual event hosted by the voice division of Don Wright Faculty of Music in celebration of Western’s International Week.
Singers and pianists from the Don Wright Faculty of Music were performed songs in many languages and styles from countries across the world.
Rachel Condie (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
Rachel Condie is a Communications and Marketing Manager. She said that because it is a university, different students participate in the event every year. Their choice makes this event colorful and new every year.
“It’s the nature of a university, students do change every year. And they graduate, and then a new group of students comes in. So while we do have similar ensembles and concerts that happen every year, there’s always something new to discover.”
Condie said she has featured one on social media this week from a student who sang a traditional Mongolian folk song.
“I mean, we have students who are singing from all around the world, some of whom they might be missing home or just fondly remembered stories from their grandparents,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of international students at Western, and it’s really a warm feeling for them to return and hear some of that. We’ve got students this year from singing songs from Croatia.”
Songs of Many Lands (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
Condie explained why this event is special for students.
“It’s honestly just very special for the students themselves to sing and learn songs from their own language or background,” she said. “And it’s not part of the curriculum, but we wanted to make sure that the students had this chance.”
von Kuster Hall (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
Also, the event has been going on for at least 11 to 12 years. Always receiving the attention and response of the London community, the event is held annually by Professor Patricia Green, one of the long-standing voice faculty members.
“We always make sure it’s live streamed so that people can join from around the world, whether it’s their own families or prospective students or people just looking to learn more about the voice faculty here,” Condie added.
The event was held this Friday at von Kuster Hall from 1:30 to 2:30 pm.
