" It was a typical day, you woke up, took your breakfast, read some emails, brushed your theeth, put your usual and boring clothes and go to work. But when you come in the school everything turned into a different world. There are no kids, there are no teachers, except for some grown-ups. Instead of this you see strange criatures, colorful creatures, beatiful creatures and then you realize- What the heck is going on?? Then everybody in choir sings - It is Öskudagur Today!!!"
Yes, definitely Öskudagur is a very funny day for maaaaaany people, as you can see below some of the kids, sorry teachers:
Left to right: Jackie Sparow, The Boss (definitely!!!!), Punky Brewster, Lady Arlequim, Plumber Guy, Don't Let me Clown- down: Sonia Gandhi and Fakat Face
Music can make you feel like being in another place. On this night everyone of us got different feelings. Can you imagine how is it to feel the sunshine throught the Japanese cherry flowers, feel the fresh air at the Ganges River, stand in front of a great big Icelandic volcano and see the fireworks, or even take a sunbath at a beautifull beach in Brazil, all of that in just one night?? Well, we did it! Enjoy the show!
What a great night guys!! Last Wednesday, the 23rd of February, the Miðstig Kór was singing in Ólafsfjörður, an adorable town in Northeast of Iceland. What did they sing? Well...Check it out by yourself!!
This rhythm is a mix of Baião (Northeast Brazil) and Capoeira Music (a dance-fight brought by african slaves in the 16th Century) made by the students. Paranauê Paranauê Paraná!!
Here you can check out how the Capoeira was played long time ago... (Movie scenes from "Besouro The Movie")
This song is called "Xodó" and the rythm is Forró from Northeast of Brazil.
This song is called "Anoiteceu" and the rythm is marchinha de carnaval (Carnival March).
So, the whole concert was dedicated to latin rhythms, some Icelandic songs was adapted to be played into this rhythms.We hope you enjoy the videos! Thank you everybody who was involved on this day, in special the headmaster of the music school in Ólasfjörður Magnus, Harpa our kind head master and of course, the stars... ALL THE STUDENTS!!
On the 25th of November, kids from Kindergarden, first and second grade perfomed 3 songs for their grandparents. That was really a fun day, we got together with the families, we sang, danced and in the end of the party everybody enjoyed a delicious cofee with cakes, muffins, breads...Nami nami!!!
The kids sang the famous "Kye Kye Kule" and "Simama Ka", both songs from Africa. This songs are kind of kids joke, so they sing and can make movements as far as the songs go. Also you can sing it in different ways to make it more fun, like start soft, then strong, screamming etc.
Kye Kye Kule video and lyrics:
You can sing this song in english if you want:
"I like the flowers
I like the daffodils
I like the mountains
I like the rolling hills
I like the fireside when the lights are low
Búmdídíjatsí..."
Thanks again all the staff whom trasported kids from the school to kindergarden, in special Benzí and Harpa. Thanks to our very very special guests, Rut who took this pictures and made the video and Héðinn Mari who played djembe with Mauricio.
In October, the marimba players from Hafralækjarskóli were scheduled to play on the opening of one of the concerts of Sinfoníu Norðurlands. This was a very special day, the orchestra played the Sergei Prokofiev´s masterpiece "Peter and the Wolf (Pétur og Úlfurinn in icelandic)". For those who do not know, this is a story for children spoken by a narrator and accompanied by the orchestra. Both text and music were Prokofiev criation. This was a great moment were kids from different schools enjoyed the fun and the learning about music.
The marimba players perfomed 6 songs, and you can check 5 of them down bellow.
We would like to thanx all staff of Hof, Tónlistarskóli Akureyri, Magna from Sinfoníu Norðurlands, and also all the amazing students!
On the 29th of August, the group of marimbas Hafralækjarskóli played in the inauguration of the new culture house HOF, in Akureyri. It was a great moment where everyone could experience a little bit of the joy of African music on a beautiful sunny day. All who were present were touched by the performance of the students and wanted to know more about the magic of the sound of the marimbas. Thanks very much everyone present in the organization, students, and parents.
And after a lovely summer vacation, we are back... We would like to tell everyone that we have a new teacher in the school, Lisa McMaster. She will be teaching trumpet, flute, and singing!! Welcome Lisa.
Happened between the 9th and 14th of August the third Zimba Marimba Summer Camp in Varberg-Sweden. A great event that brought together students, teachers and supporters of African music from around the world: Iceland, South Africa, Gambia, Guinea, United States, among others. Teachers and students from Hafralækjarskoli, Husavik and Akureyri participated. The camp was organized by Peta Axelson, mentor and director of the group of marimbas Zimba Marimba and Anna Forsvall Lundmark. Excellent workshops with masters of African music and dance: Sabar drums, Zimababwe dance, African marimba and djembe. We, the Hafralaekjarskóli teachers only have to thank for the great opportunity to meet so special people and having great moments where everyone, no matter where they come from, they had a common goal: learning and sharing. Moments like those remind us of how the world should be. Thanks Peta and friends!
Julia Tsitsi Chigamba: master dancer, singer and instrumentalist from Zimbabwe.
Sousou Cissoko: one of the rare female Kora player in the world.
Max Soumah: brilliant dancer from Guinea Conakry, West Africa.
Baboucar Camara: master of sabar drumming from Njawara.
