This week our online music class traveled to the oh-so-complicated nation of Myanmar. Life has been particularly rough in Burma-Myanmar for the last century or so (why two names for the country? It’s complicated), especially for the last fifty years since the country has been beneath the thumb of one autocratic ruling party or another. Through it all the Burmese people keep hope alive that one day they may attain political freedom, even occasionally rising up in conjunction with the many Theravada Buddhist Monks who maintain a position of some respect in Burmese society.
As we speak, in 2021, Mynanmar is deep in a post-coup struggle, pitting the autocratic military government against the nation’s incredibly resilient people. to honor these people, and the way they find joy in their lives, we turn our eye away from politics and toward Myanmar’s music and culture.
