2014. 2014. 2014!

Thinking back on all the good times All Around This World had in the past year, but also very much ahead to 2015. Sure, in 2014 this little global music program for kids made some great strides, like:

— starting the year by announcing the results of a successful crowdfunding campaign

— having the AATW: Latin America CD honored by the Parents Choice Awards ™

— introducing a full world cultures curriculum for preschool and elementary school classrooms and connecting with several schools to pilot test the program this fall.

— recording over the course of the year with extraordinary African, Caribbean and South and Central Asian artists. All Around This World: Africa  is mixed and mastered and will be ready for release this spring.

— getting the personal honor to perform alongside Ella Jenkins at the National Association for the Education of Young Children national convention in November…

but 2015 is going to be even better. There are so many adventures yet to come.

Happy new year!

The long-awaited All Around This World: Africa double CD set is alllllllmost ready. Last week I spent an inspiring evening at the Hook Studio in Brooklyn with Nigerian/Yoruban talking drummer and singer “Kofo the Wonderman” recording the lead vocal and talking drum for a “fuji” courtship/wedding track we’re calling “Bale Ile.” (Learn about “Bale Ile.”) We’d been trying to get Kofo into the studio for quite a while and somehow on this night the stars aligned. The initial mix of the track is fantastic. I can’t wait for you to hear viagraforhealthyman.com it.
Watch Kofo recording part of his solo:
[wpspoiler name=”Recording Bale Ile with Kofo the Wonderman” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]
Now watch Kofo soloing on his talking drum with a backing band and you’ll be able to get a sense of how exciting “Bale Ile” is going to be.
[wpspoiler name=”Kofo the Wonderman in action at the Zinc Bar in NYC” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]

Join me for an unprecedented, family-friendly but NOT JUST FOR KIDS All Around This World live event from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, June 21st at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, to CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL MAKE YOUR OWN INSTRUMENT DAY with hands-on instrument-making and the debut of the All Around This World Global Orchestra, a 9 (maybe 10) piece electric band that will perform songs from AATW’s Latin America, Africa, South and Central Asia and Caribbean seasons. Tickets are $10 at the door or through the World Cafe Live site, though contact me directly for a VIP deal.

Featuring very special guest, DARIA, who will be leading the instrument-building based on her awesome global instrument-making guides. With Daria’s guidance we will all make Egyptian sistrums, Chinese Gongs and African-style tongue rattles.

This show could be a big leap forward for All Around The World and I’d love to pack the house. Bring friends bring friends bring friends!

Join AATW on Pinterest to celebrate Make Your Own Instrument day and much more.

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I know I’ve been slow to update the news column of this site in the new year, but I really must note the passing of Pete Seeger. Over a seventy year career Seeger used music to inspire thought and action, to build community and to generally better the world. Decades ago sildenafil citrate Seeger was one of the first modern artists to search the world for engaging music, translate and adapt songs for an American audience as a way to connect people of all sorts with one another. As you can imagine, I think that’s pretty great.
Watch an older Seeger perform his interpretation of the African children’s song, “Abiyoyo.”

Watch a younger Seeger perform “Down By the Riverside” along with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

All Around This World just turned 100! Well, sort of. On May 1 I posted my 100th live webcast video since opening the All Around This World Livestream site this past December. On December 7, 2013, I started the adventure with a whopping 12 videos, each two hours long, recorded during the crazy AATW 24 Hour Marathon. The rest have come one at a time, each and every weekday afternoon in 2014. Every day at about 5pm I appear on Livestream, almost always viagra over the counter live, to celebrate a holiday that’s happening somewhere worldwide by sharing a song from the AATW curriculum. On May 1st, 2014, I posted my 100th Livestream video, marking global May Day festivities with “Ali Alo,” a French song about working hard, which we sing in our Western Europe season of songs. Whatever you’re doing at 5pm on weekdays, take a moment out and join me at new.livestream.com/allaroundthisworld. I promise you’ll learn something new and have a lot of fun doing it.

All Around This World Philadelphia announces an exciting collaboration with International House, one of Philadelphia’s premier hubs of international cultural programming, to offer interactive, informative and FUN hands-on cultural workshops for families with small kids. Programs will be 2pm the first Saturday of every month, starting November 1st.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1: HANDS-ON BOMBA WORKSHOP FOR FAMILIES WITH SMALL KIDS

Everyone will love drumming, humming and dancing with the Puerto Rican bomba rythms and chants of drummer, performer, singer and educator Alberto Pagán-Ramírez.

DATE: Saturday, November 1st, 2014
TIME: 2pm. (approximately 45 minutes)
LOCATION: International House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street in West Philly
COST: $5 per person 2 years and up, at most $15 per family. International House Members FREE.
AGES: Appropriate for families with children from infants to 8 years old.

Upcoming workshops

— December 6, Samba drumming with PhillyBloco’s Jay Beck
— January 3: Capoeira!
— February 7: Malian drumming with Ira Bond
— March 7: Dende (Afro-Brazilian drumming)
— April 4: African dance and movement with Adwoa Tacheampong
— May 2: Bhangra dancing!
— June 6: tabla with Daniel Ando Scholnick

About International House:

“International House Philadelphia has a critical three-fold mission: to maintain a diverse and welcoming community for scholars from around the world, while introducing them to the American experience; to broaden the horizons of its residents and the Greater Philadelphia community through high quality international arts and humanities programs; and to encourage understanding, respect, and cooperation among the people of all nations.”

Due to some unexpected twists and turns the All Around This World weekly webcast program is going to start in full this summer rather than this spring as originally planned–exact start dates will come soon. Part of the delay has to do with the fact that All Around This World has decided to birth an international holiday and needs to focus on making it great. 

WHAT!?!? An INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY?????

Yes. All the music-meet-holiday excitement of AATW’s nearly daily Song-a-day webcasts has inspired Jay to go even further off the deep end. 

So, introducing . . . 

<H2>INTERNATIONAL MAKE YOUR OWN INSTRUMENT DAY!</H2>

What is International Make Your Own Instrument Day?

International Make Your Own Instrument Day is a modern musical holiday for everyone–cross-cultural, participatory, inventively fun.

To celebrate this holiday you will MAKE YOUR OWN INSTRUMENT in any way, shape or form, and enjoy playing it tremendously. The instrument can be a simulated “real” instrument–a drum made from a storage bin, a guitar-like broomstick using rubber band strings–or you can create something entirely new. You may play your instrument by yourself in your living room or in an arena with thousands of other friends who have also made their own instruments. You may have just a little fun, but you will probably have a lot.

When is International Make Your Own Instrument Day?
The official holiday will take place on JUNE 21st–the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Though shouldn’t every day be make your own instrument day?

Learn more about International Make Your Own Instrument Day here.

So many exciting things happened in the AATW world this summer, and I look forward to sharing the results of them with you this fall and beyond. One of the most exciting advances is that a multinational coalition of musical magicians, led by tabla master and revered guru Samir Chatterjee, finished final tracking for All Around This World: South and Central Asia, which will ultimately become a two CD set featuring 34 songs from all over the region, especially India. Samir called together phenomenal musicians from far and wide to create the easily enjoyable yet complexly layered music that will populate the CD. If you’re an educator in a home or school environment you will be able to have access to the AATW: South and Central Asia “classroom kit” in the spring. The rest of us … we have a huge springtime 2015 AATW: Africa release to wade through before we get there. But we’ll get there.

Hi friends . . . Taking the leap and starting to offer music classes by weekly webcast. LEARN MORE HERE.

Announcing All Around This World’s Weekly Webcast Classes for You and Your Kids

All Around This World’s unique, inspiring world music and global cultures classes for little kids (0-9 years-old) and their families will soon be available to you, wherever you are, LIVE each week, beamed right to your computer via webcast.

Jay Sand, founder and lead teacher of All Around This World, will soon start offering his one-of-a-kind world music and global cultures program for your family or school classroom to enjoy.  

Each weekly AATW webcast class will be approximately 40 minutes long and will consist of interactive songs, dances and cultural experiences from the inventive All Around This World curriculum. These will be classes intended for parents/caregivers to enjoy with their little children and teachers to enjoy with their preschool or daycare students. Don’t just stick those little ones in front of the screen! This is a time to sing and dance together.

Live classes will take place Thursday mornings but the video will be available for your singing, dancing and learning pleasure several times throughout the week. Now, no matter where you live, you can explore global music and cultures with into your family, playgroup, daycare/preschool/kindergarten/lower elementary school classroom or community group. Hurrah!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL AROUND THIS WORLD’S WEEKLY WEBCASTS.

Hi friends . . . Taking the leap and starting to offer music classes by weekly webcast. LEARN MORE HERE.

Announcing All Around This World’s Weekly Webcast Classes for You and Your Kids

All Around This World’s unique, inspiring world music and global cultures classes for little kids (0-9 years-old) and their families will soon be available to you, wherever you are, LIVE each week, beamed right to your computer via webcast.

Jay Sand, founder and lead teacher of All Around This World, will soon start offering his one-of-a-kind world music and global cultures program for your family or school classroom to enjoy.  

Each weekly AATW webcast class will be approximately 40 minutes long and will consist of interactive songs, dances and cultural experiences from the inventive All Around This World curriculum. These will be classes intended for parents/caregivers to enjoy with their little children and teachers to enjoy with their preschool or daycare students. Don’t just stick those little ones in front of the screen! This is a time to sing and dance together.

Live classes will take place Thursday mornings but the video will be available for your singing, dancing and learning pleasure several times throughout the week. Now, no matter where you live, you can explore global music and cultures with into your family, playgroup, daycare/preschool/kindergarten/lower elementary school classroom or community group. Hurrah!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL AROUND THIS WORLD’S WEEKLY WEBCASTS.