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  • World Artists Experiences volunteers meet to plan their schedule of events. Seated, from the left, are Betty McGinnis, founder of WAE; Kathy Condor, William Mandicott and Linda Smith. Standing are Bernice Friedland and Roger Dale. Karyl Hansen is also a member of the group.

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July 18, 2010

World Artists can connect diverse cultures

Kristin Harty Barkley Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND —  An interpreter helped bridge the language gap when Russian musicians stayed overnight at the home of Roger and Lynne Barnes-Dale last spring.

Music helped, too.

“We are a house of musicians,” said Barnes-Dale, a Celtic harpist and volunteer with World Artists Experiences, which has brought artists from a dozen countries to Cumberland over the last decade.

In March, the Alash Throat Singers from the former Russian Republic of Tuva performed a concert for the public, then, after a homemade meal prepared by volunteers, had an impromptu jam session with Barnes-Dale and other local musicians.

“I’m just in heaven to play with these people from around the world,” Barnes-Dale said. “Language, sometimes it’s a barrier, but once we play music that all goes away. That’s just amazing to me.”

World Artists Experiences volunteers want more local residents to experience the magical way that music and art can connect diverse cultures.

The organization, which formed in 2002, has more than 200 “cultural ambassadors” in Maryland and five other states. Locally, a small group of volunteers has helped sponsor the performances of artists from Austria, Chile, Germany, Bulgaria, Brazil, and Egypt — to name a few.

Most recently, a jazz duo from Austria performed in May.

Attendance at concerts varies, with some performances drawing small crowds of a couple of dozen, others bringing audiences of about 80.

“The audiences we have are always very enthusiastic, and it’s very well-received,” said Linda Smith, of Cumberland, an ambassador for WAE. “We would just like to provide them a bigger audience.”

In September, eight musician/dancers from Kenya are scheduled to perform at Allegany College of Maryland. The group, called Kenge Kenge, plays traditional hand-made instruments, including an orutu, a one-stringed fiddle, and a nyangile, or gong. Its name, roughly translated, means, “a medley fusion of small exhilarating ecstatic instruments.”

 “They’re not just performing,” Smith said. “They’re up there presenting part of their culture. It’s citizen diplomacy. ... It’s the universal language — art and music and dance.”

In addition to the concerts, WAE offers periodic “cultural immersion” experiences — inexpensive day-long bus trips that are designed to provide “intense learning opportunities about a country or area of the world.”

Seats are still available for the Latin American immersion experience scheduled for Sept. 25.

Cumberland residents Amy and John Shuman have attended most WAE concerts over the last several years, including the Alash throat singers.

“(We) rarely miss a concert,” Amy Shuman said. “All of them have been fabulous. We are so fortunate that (WAE) can bring these world-class concerts to Cumberland.”

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kbarkley@times-news.com.

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