MUSIC FOR THE COMMON GOOD
******Everything we fundraise above £6,300 will go directly to Medair, in addition to all proceeds from the World Premiere*********
Be part of this adventure and help me fundraise for Musa's Journey: an original composition by Dušan Bogdanović, which I will be creating and premiering.
By sponsoring this work, you will contribute to creating new classical music and helping those most affected by climate change. Bogdanović is one of today's greatest living guitar composers and is writing a piece for the 10-string guitar, a modern string instrument full of resonance, colour and depth.
I am incredibly moved by this opportunity to create such important work from this significant composer for the 10-string guitar while also helping raise climate change awareness through music.
In a nutshell, Musa's Journey is a multi-movement solo work Written by the world-renowned Dušan Bogdanović. It captures the changing landscapes two sisters go through to find drinking water—the story of an intensifying plight under climate change.
Where is the money going?
£ 5,000 will cover Dusan's composition fee
£ 1,300 will cover the costs of the premiere. All proceeds of this premiere will go to a charitable organization (Swiss NGO Medair, which acts in Africa, bringing relief to disaster-stricken populations)
All donators' names will be featured on the premiere concert program.
To thank you for your generosity:
If you donate > £ 1000, we will send you a signed score of the first publication + CD + 2 tickets of the premiere in Switzerland + 4 guitar lessons.
If you donate > £ 800, we will send you 2 tickets to the premiere in Switzerland + 2 guitar lessons.
If you donate > £ 500, we will send you 2 tickets to the premiere in Switzerland.
If you donate > £ 100 we will send you a free signed CD.
If you donate > £1, good vibes your way and a huge thank you.
Why this Project: A classical music project to raise funds for those suffering from water scarcity and climate change.
Musa's Journey project was inspired on a heart-wrenching news piece published in February 2020. I was deeply touched by this reporting of a young girl's drowning as she had to fetch for water in a well, caused by severe drought and unprecedented water shortages in a South African city. In our current climate crisis, droughts are becoming more and more frequent and intense in the continent, increasing the adversities and the risk faced by society's most vulnerable. This project puts contemporary classical music at the service of a philanthropic organisation, helping raise funds for those suffering from water scarcity and other effects of climate change.
More about the music:
This piece will be inspired on the technique and musical traditions of West Africa. In particular, the nomadic ‘griots’ - travelling musicians, poets and storytellers. The music and poetic nature of griot culture will run parallel with the theme of Musas' journey.
Through this set of griot storytelling, we hope to bring light and awareness to the situation that so many children will increasingly face in our current climate crisis. The piece will be composed for the 10 string guitar to incorporate some of the techniques of the Kora — a traditional west African instrument with 21 strings that shares many similarities to the classical guitar. Each movement will represent a changing landscape, echoing both Musa's journey and the changes in our current climate.
Useful Links:
To download the brochure: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e85b2172287df0a7846e6bb/t/61191cfc4ada722d70107393/1629035794358/MusasJourney.pdf
To learn more about the piece and about me: https://twalshguitarist.com/musasjourney
To learn more about the 10-string guitar: https://twalshguitarist.com
To learn more about Dusan Bogdanovic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%C5%A1an_Bogdanovi%C4%87 and https://www.dusanbogdanovic.com/
To learn more about Medair: https://www.medair.org/
