MSU’s campus will come alive with the sound of Latin American culture in the College of Music’s annual Latin IS America festival April 11 through May 12.,
According to the Dean of the College of Music, Professor James Forger, it all started in 2013 when faculty members became interested in focusing on a more diverse array of music.
With several College of Music professors specializing in Latin American music, Forger said it made sense to have a festival celebrating a culture that is growing exponentially in the U.S.
“I think that Latin culture and U.S. culture is increasingly intertwined,” Forger said.
The purpose of Latin IS America, he said, is to focus on these connections not only in music but in film, dance, and various other art forms.
“This is a way of highlighting a form of diverse music that is becoming increasingly prominent throughout the world,” Forger said.
He said for the past three years, the festival has been an important curricular element for the College of Music.
The festival brings together a number of visiting musicians, experts and scholars, who Forger said are embraced by the faculty.
He said this year’s events are heavily influenced by the College of Music’s study abroad program in Cuba, which allows students and faculty to interact with some of the best musicians in the country and invite them back to MSU.
“It’s a reciprocal, symbiotic relationship where we have special guests coming here and teaching and performing, and we’ve developed a relationship with them over the years that is mutually beneficial,” Forger said.
He said this year’s events will present a kaleidoscope of music with works from colonial Cuba, 20th century Brazil, and Latin American music.
Because Latin American culture is becoming such a large part of the U.S., Forger said it is necessary to reach out and understand people from different parts of the world.
“This is an international university, one of the very best,” Forger said, “...music is an international language and we learn and communicate with one another in our own particular style.”
Forger believes the study abroad in Cuba is the perfect example of getting to know and celebrate people from different parts of the world . Though there has been tension between Cuba and the U.S. for many years, the students who travel there experience no problems.
“I think to learn how people express themselves in music and through musicology is a window to their culture and a window to their hearts,” Forger said, “...It’s a way of creating peace, creating understanding, a way of becoming one.”
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