OJAI : Students Sample Rhythms of Brazil

More than 400 Ojai schoolchildren and adults were treated to the rhythmic sounds of Lula and Afro-Brazil on Friday at the first of two community outreach concerts at Libbey Bowl.

Friday’s concert marked the second year that the Ojai Festivals Community Outreach brought music to the students of Ojai’s public and private schools, said Charles McDermott of the Ojai Festivals board of directors.

“With the cutback of arts funding in the (public) schools, this is so important,” he said. Last year, Ojai Unified School District cut $18,000 from its vocal music program, eliminating special aides hired to teach singing in the classrooms, said Pamela Martens, assistant superintendent.

In addition to staging performances each October and May, the Ojai Festivals Community Outreach also lends musical instruments to the schools.

“We were extremely fortunate to have the Ojai Festival approach us,” said Martens. “It is a great partnership between the schools and the city.”

Last year the Ojai Festivals Community Outreach put on concerts with the Ventura County Symphony. This year, it chose a colorful performance by Brazilian musicians and dancers.

“This is the first thing we’ve done that was untraditional music,” said Katie Shepherd, Ojai Festivals Community Outreach. “It was wonderful.”

And if the response of the children is a measure of the program’s success, the show was a big hit. The Brazilian performers invited the children to join them in waving arms, clapping and singing.

“It was great,” said Melissa Lago, a fifth-grader at Oakgrove Elementary School. “It was neat how we got to participate.”

“It was cool because they expressed their feelings when they danced,” said James Greynald, another Oakgrove fifth-grader.

While some students had difficulty understanding the lyrics, it was a different case for one 11-year-old boy.

David Jayanetti, a fifth-grader at Oakgrove, was born in Campinas, Brazil. Since he speaks Portuguese, he had an easier time with the lyrics than his classmates. “I understood some of the words they were singing,” he said, “but this is the first time I’ve seen this music performed.”

Lula Almeida, leader of the Brazilian performance group, is a former member of Olodum, featured on Paul Simon’s “Rhythm of the Saints” album. During carnival, the strong rhythm-oriented music and the dancers are a traditional way of celebrating Mardi Gras, he said.

“We have the best carnival in Brazil,” he said.