Beaver’s Select Singers Honor Chorus and the Cuban Jazz Ensemble traveled to Havana, Cuba this spring as part of a musical exchange with Escuela Nacional de Arte. Beaver has been participating in the bi-annual exchange since 2015, but this year’s trip marked a long-awaited return to Cuba after four years of travel restrictions. Needless to say, the group of 23 musicians that embarked on the trip were eager to make the most of the experience.
Students spent their eight days in Havana rehearsing, performing, and immersing themselves in the city. Rehearsals occurred daily with Escuela Nacional de Arte and culminated in a performance in front of the entire school featuring four songs with ENA students, two songs rehearsed at Beaver, and two new songs that were introduced at the start of the trip. When reflecting upon the experience, many students touched upon how the ENA musicians inspired them to approach performing in a new way. As one student states, “it was very fun to listen to them play and play with us, and we all learned a lot about playing music with joy instead of thinking of it as a task that was required.”
Every moment we were in Cuba was a learning moment of sorts. We spent mornings at ENA in music workshops or rehearsals, and, in the afternoons, we got to see firsthand different aspects of Cuban culture and day-to-day life – from taking cooking lessons to visiting an organic farm to learning how to dance.
-Zaira Santiago, Associate Head of School
Ana Norgaard, Instrumental Music teacher and curator of the trip, approached the exchange knowing the transformative effect it would have on students. Not only were students challenged musically, but they were also challenged culturally.
“In Cuba, right from the beginning of an interaction, people give hugs and put their arms on your shoulders; just little things like that to make people feel more welcome. And they are also generally more straightforward … When we were playing music with them, they would often stop what they were doing to show us how to play a certain way in the middle of a song.”
-Ana Norgaard, Upper and Middle School Instrumental Music
Exploring the city also came with culture shock, as the appearance of buildings, the signage of companies, and even the cars on the street all appeared differently than in the U.S. Through discussions before the trip, conversations with Cuban natives in Havana, and reflections after returning home, students were able to develop a much deeper understanding of the culture they celebrate through music.
Despite an itinerary packed with experiences, some of the most memorable moments of the trip happened in-between plans. Associate Head of School Zaira Santiago, a chaperone for the trip, noticed how students found time to connect when least expected; “It was the rides on our bus and our sit-down meals that provided the time and space to process everything we were seeing and doing,” Santiago says. “Whether pulling apart and sharing what they had learned, noticed and wondered about from the day’s adventures during the evening meal or sitting quietly on the bus processing – these moments of reflection and connection are the ones that cement the experience for the participants.”
You can get a glimpse of the experience in the video below, featuring various performances and photos from the trip!