Dr. Eric Conway, D.M.A., Fine
and Performing Arts Department Chairperson of
Morgan State University, writes about Day 2 of the tour to Australia:
Hello everyone,
Today, was a much better day than
yesterday. First, it appears that everyone got a good night sleep,
which is not always the case when you travel over 14 time zones.
Everyone appeared fresh and ready to go and on time! We had a great
buffet breakfast, included in our package, which everyone enjoyed. The
weather was spectacular! We could not find a cloud in the sky before
noon. The sky was as blue as I ever have seen. The temperature was
extremely comfortable, especially given that we are currently in the
winter season of the southern hemisphere.
Our
first stop was to the Australian Museum. Rather than take our limited
time and learn about the European history of the country, we asked our
guides to concentrate on the aborigine history and culture. The
aborigine culture is perhaps the oldest continuous culture in one
geographical location in the world. As we learned of the aborigine
history, we learned of the European's (white man's) discrimination
towards the indigenous people of the land. Their discrimination mirrored
that of many cultures agains people of color - thus another chapter in
the African diaspora. Especially for those Morgan students who have
already taken the required course at Morgan in the African Diaspora,
this was a unique hands-on look at how the world's views on humanity are
similar despite the tremendous distances that separate us. To hear of
the stories of the lost generations, i.e the story of have children of
aborigines were taken from their parents because they wanted to make
them more like the Europeans who settled. Sometimes they justified this
because of giving them a more civilized life, sometimes because of
pseudo-religions reasons. but at the end of the day, no child should
ever be taken from their family, under no conditions. We learned that
up until the 1980's there were still tribes of aborigines who have never
seem a white man. Most recently, Australian parliament made an
official apology for their actions against the aborigines tribes.
Although this may have been too little, too late, this effort was
considered very important in trying to have these two cultures co-exist
in a civilized manner.
After the museum, we
travelled to Bondi Beach. Not bad for a winter day! At least in
Sydney, the daytime temperature typically do not go below 55-60 degrees
Fahrenheit in the winter season. The beaches in Australia were well
maintained, with good surf, and very beautiful. As we travelled up the
coast, we saw beach after beach, each with a unique name and unique
infrastructure.
After Bondi beach we travelled
to the Taronga Zoo. Taronga is an native word that means beautiful
view. We had yet another beautiful view of the Sydney Skyline form the
zoo. We travelled to the zoo via ferry. After the short ferry ride to
the zoo, we went up via cable car to the entrance. We saw many
indigenous animals including kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, Koala bears,
and many other exotic animals - see photos attached.
After
the visit to Zoo, we only have minutes to get back to the hotel to
wash, dress, and get to the bus. Our first concert was in St. Luke's
Anglican Church. We had a very full house, despite the fact that this
church had never had a Thursday evening concert. The music director
suggested that we begin the evening singing both the U.S. and Australian
National anthems in a show of respect for both countries. The MSU
choir then proceeded to sing a 70-minute program without intermission,
concluding with a joint selection with the St. Luke's church choir -
Mack Wilberg's Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. From the reaction of
the crowd throughout the concert, they were very moved by our
performance. After the performance, they made supper for us (which was
not originally on the schedule). Virtually the entire church stayed
behind to greet the choir and group of supporters.
Although
at this point, our stay has been relatively short in Australia, already
we all can say with a great deal of certainty that the reception has
been favorable in every aspect. We were not certain initially how we
would be embraced, as there is a relatively small African American
population in Australia. Most blacks that are seen are directly from
continental Africa. We hope that our upcoming concerts, will yield
similar good will as was shown this evening.
See link to news report on the Morgan State Univeristy Choir in Australia below:
More to come. . .
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