listening to the world
Created by Alicia Waller
A cross-continental exploration of our shared humanity through song.
Why do human beings make music? What relief does it provide, or need does it fill? How is it that virtually every global culture integrates music into its fabric, and what do the sounds we make tell us about one another? These are some of the questions that students and participants will explore in Listening to the World with vocalist and bandleader, Alicia Waller.
VERSION I
Assembly Presentation
Ideal for large audiences and assemblies, a concert presentation of Listening to the World offers groups of 50 or more a rich sonic experience that examines a sliver of the world’s music cultures. Throughout the 50-minute performance, which will be periodically interspersed with narrative overview, students will be invited to become amateur ethnomusicologists, using their ears to discover the world as they listen to sounds from near and far. Students can expect to hear soundscapes that are quite familiar to them, while others are likely to sound completely new. That is half the fun!
Waller will appear alongside her ensemble of prodigious jazz musicians to take young ears on a cross-continental journey. In Listening to the World, students will act as sonic travelers—experiencing a range sound cultures interpreted by Waller and her band. Through the program’s diverse selection of songs and narrative components, students will be introduced to the geographies, languages, and histories that correspond to the musics that they hear, as a given musical vernacular is inextricably linked to the people and cultures that have informed it. Listeners will further learn to identify the techniques, themes, and styles that repeat across cultures, while searching simultaneously for the musical attributes that are unique to each.
In the end, our young ethnomusicologists will be invited into the wonderful world of listening, harnessing their imaginations to decipher humanity’s most truly universal language.
VERSION II
Workshop Curriculum
Best suited for the classroom, the workshop presentation of Listening to the World is a collaborative session ideal for groups of 20 or less. It can take place as a one-time event, or as a course held over 2-4 consecutive sessions. During the two-hour workshop, Alicia will introduce attendees to her methodology for cultural investigation through sound. Participants will be invited to become amateur ethnomusicologists and vocal performers throughout the duration of the workshop, using their ears and voices to “discover the world” as they collaborate with fellow attendees.
To prepare for the course, each participant will be asked to bring one song that is meaningful to their respective culture(s). Once the workshop has begun, students will be paired off into groups of two where they will share the meaning of their selected song, providing translations where appropriate. They will additionally be asked to situate their selections in their respective cultural, geographic, and historic context(s). In turn, attendees can also expect to learn a new song from their collaborating partner—thus creating a reciprocal exchange of culture sharing through music. Time permitting, participants will be invited to share what they have learned with a brief musical performance for the larger group.
Through the workshop, participants will be invited to delve deeper into the wonderful world of listening—harnessing their ears and imaginations to decipher humanity’s most truly universal language. The Listening to the World workshop is excellent for students interested in music, but is open to all levels of musical acumen.
ABOUT ALICIA
Alicia Waller is a genre-expanding vocalist most recognized for the jazz fusion ensemble Alicia Waller & The Excursion. With the release of her EP, Some Hidden Treasure (2020), she emerged into original work, focusing on jazz, soul, and vernacular sounds. Known for the luminous warmth of her voice and her captivating approach to soul, Waller creates a rich, expressive sound that has been praised as a synthesis of splendor and depth.
WATCH & LISTEN
Now accepting inquiries for 2024-25 / 2025-26.
Please reach to contact@aliciawaller.com for further details.