Afropop Band
Fall semester 2020
The Middlebury Afropop Band performs classic and contemporary popular music from all over the African continent. Afropop is a dynamic and diverse blend of traditional African music with R&B, rock, pop, reggae, hip hop, funk, EDM, and many other Western and Afro-diasporic styles. Trademarks of these styles are catchy melodies and simple harmonies set to rich polyrhythms.
Rehearsals
Tuesday and Thursday, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Mahaney Arts Center
The music department will provide a keyboard, drumset, amplifiers, microphones, and some percussion; students are welcome to bring their own guitars, horns, and anything else they’d like to add to the ensemble. For more information, contact ensemble director Damascus Kafumbe via e-mail (dkafumbe@middlebury.edu).
The Middlebury Afropop Band seeks players of all skill levels, majors and non-majors, on any instrument, including:
Voice
Electric guitar
Electric base
Keyboards/synth
Drumset
Percussion
Horns (esp. Tenor and Bari Sax, Trumpet, and Trombone)
African instruments (strings, keys, percussion, etc.)
Musicians should be generally competent on their instruments, but reading music is not a requirement. We will work cooperatively on listening, learning parts by ear, and creating our own arrangements. Our primary focus will be on ensemble groove and fostering a community-based ensemble with a strong, positive vibe.
