‘Handling Serious Matters Musically’
Oct. 24 performance addresses infant mortality and other world issues

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 24, 4 to 6 p.m. WHERE: Satellite Ballroom on the U.Va. Corner

While working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, ethnomusicologist Heather Maxwell co-wrote and recorded a hit song about — of all things — a simple-to-prepare oral rehydration mixture that combats the effects of diarrheal diseases.

On Oct. 24, Maxwell will bring her passion for the power of music as educational tool to a performance, “Handling Serious Matters Musically: Deforestation, Infant Mortality and Community in Contemporary Africa,” to be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Satellite Ballroom on the Corner, followed by a reception.

The performance will include a blend of traditional and modern songs, some written and performed by Maxwell, that touch on community issues of deforestation, black magic, love and poverty, infant mortality, women’s equality and issues of nation building, as well as youth and the role popular music plays in encouraging them to participate in their community.

The event also will feature other artists representing numerous nationalities, backgrounds and musical experience, including U.Va. student musicians and dancers; drummer and composer Robert Jospé of U.Va.’s faculty jazz ensemble; Charles Kilpatrick, Richmond-based jazz keyboardist; Marthe Bolda, an African dancer from Cameroun; and two percussionists who play with the Kusun Ensemble from Ghana.
For more information, call Tamela Davis at 924-3606.

The performance is part of a series on Environment, Conservation and Culture, sponsored this academic year by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.