Honor Earth Day weekend with Small Island Big Song on April 20 at George Mason University's Center for the Arts for a moving musical experience that combines music, spoken word, and stunning projections to showcase the sounds of various island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while shining a light on the devastating effects of climate crisis on our world’s ocean.
Small Island Big Song is the brainchild of Australian filmmaker and music producer Tim Cole and Taiwanese theater producer BaoBao Chen (pictured left), who traveled to 16 island nations to capture unique sounds and cinematic sights while working with over a hundred indigenous local artists, elders, community groups, and grassroots musicians. The result of this inspiring research and storytelling yielded two award-winning albums, a feature film, and a world-touring concert. For Small Island Big Song’s April performance, panoramic visuals will work alongside live musicians to highlight a shared seafaring ancestry with interconnected musical traditions.
Small Island Big Song establishes a contemporary musical dialogue between cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Aotearoa, Taiwan, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, and Rapa Nui.
(Photo Credit: Small Island Big Song)
As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Small Island Big Song will also work with the community through classes and workshops during the week surrounding the performance, including an Artists in Conversation event and schooltime matinee, both of which are free offerings and detailed below.
Co-presented by the City of Fairfax and Center for the Arts, Small Island Big Song will host an Artists in Conversation titled “Our Shared Seafaring Heritage, Alive in Rhythm and Song” on April 2 at the Stacey C. Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax, Virginia. This free, open-to-the-public lecture-demonstration will provide context prior to the April 20 performance with geographical and historical background about the great oceanic migrations that affected the featured island nations. Additionally, the evening will consist of conversation and musical demonstrations from Small Island Big Song artists, followed by an interactive Q&A session with audience members. This event is free, but registration is required; additional information can be found on the event webpage.
On April 19, Small Island Big Song invites local students to experience a schooltime performance that includes participatory dance and rhythmic activities, as well as an open Q&A with students. In addition to this special truncated performance with participatory activities, Small Island Big Song offers a free Study Guide that includes an introduction to the project, useful links, and relevant historical information. This performance is free, but registration is required; additional information can be found on the field trips webpage.
This engagement of Small Island Big Song is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Mason Artist-in-Residence program is supported in part by the Wendy Frieman and David Johnson Fund. The Artist-in-Residence program for this performance is sponsored by Eloise Stinger.
Thank you to the City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation Everybody Plays Grant program for making free tickets possible for the schooltime matinee program. This grant was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).