The music collective The Nile Project will take the stage at 7:30 Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, presenting a unique opportunity for Four Corners community members to experience the culture of the Nile River basin.
One of the tightest cross-cultural collaborations in history, The Nile Project brings together artists from the 11 Nile countries to make new music that combines the rich diversity of some of the oldest cultures on Earth. The group blends traditional musical idioms into one seamless Nile sound that has been called "seductive and beautiful. nothing short of revolutionary."
The Nile, one of the world's most iconic rivers, has captivated the imagination of millions throughout time. Originating in two sources - Lake Victoria in east Africa and Lake Tana in the Ethiopian highlands - the 6,670-kilometer river flows northward through diverse landscapes, climates and cultures before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Nile River basin's 450 million inhabitants are projected to double within the next 25 years, increasing the demand for Nile water: water that is tied to all aspects of regional life. The mounting resource scarcity has contributed to a geopolitical conflict among riparian states, and The Nile Project is one effort to transform the Nile Conflict.
By inspiring, educating and empowering an international network of university students to cultivate the sustainability of their ecosystem, the members of The Nile Project integrate music, education, dialogue, leadership and innovation to engage the world.
From its debut concert, captured live on the 2013 release Aswan, The Nile Project established itself as something completely new. NPR named the recording as one of five "Must Hear International Albums."
Buzzing timbres and ingenious polyrhythms support vocals in more than 10 languages. Instruments that parted ways millennia before are reunited and pushed to new extremes. Love songs cross geographic and linguistic barriers to forge new, close friendships.
Using music to spark cultural curiosity, The Nile Project engages musicians and audiences, encouraging all to feel connected to the world's longest river and explore new approaches to its social, cultural and environmental problems.
View The Nile Project performing live in the KEXP studio in Seattle, including music and in depth discussion at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJQf1vtxH58.
Tickets for The Nile Project ($35/$45) are available online at www.durangoconcerts.com or call 247-7657, or visit the ticket office inside the Durango Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue in downtown Durango. All sales final.
The Community Concert Hall will also host a free panel discussion, "Music, Citizen Engagement & Water Resource Management" at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6 to explore resource sustainability in the Nile River and Animas River basins.
