Adaptation of a Brazilian Capoeira song for Voice and Berimbau (Musical Bow)
By Eric Galm
This song is a musical call for peace, disseminating the spiritual positive energy of the Brazilian berimbau (musical bow). Some Afro-Brazilian capoeira (martial art/dance/game) masters believe that the "Força" (power) of the berimbau calls together the ancestors and the spirits, and channels that energy through the musician, reaching as far as its natural sound can carry. By articulating an identity between the berimbau and the musician, "Who goes there is me, there I go, berimbau I play, capoeira I know," the musician brings together multiple realms to call for unity and peace.
About the artist
Eric Galm
Eric Galm is Associate Professor of music, chair of the music department, and co-director of the Center for Caribbean Studies at Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut. He founded the Trinity Samba Ensemble and the Samba Fest, a regional music festival that has presented the United States debut performances of Brazilian artists including Berimbrown, Dinho Nascimento and the Orquestra de Berimbaus do Morro do Querosene, Ivan Vilela, the Meninos de Minas, and Adrianna, among others. He has conducted research, presented and performed in Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, the United States and Canada. He was invited to serve as a featured participant at the “International Seminar on Education Research: Theory and Practice” at the Universidade Estadual de Piauí/Teresina, and “Música em Debate” at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. In September 2018, he was awarded Honorary Citizenship from the City of Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In addition to currently serving as a selection committee member for the national Fulbright Fellowship Program and the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program, he has received awards from the Fulbright Fellowship Program, Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, Trinity College (Trustee Award for Excellence and Hughes Teaching Achievement), the Community Music Center of Boston’s prize for teaching excellence, and the 2020 Steve Balcanoff Award for community engagement from the Hartford-based Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance. He has performed with icon Pete Seeger, and has recorded several CDs including traditional Renaissance music and Brazilian Jazz. His publications include The Berimbau: Soul of Brazilian Music (Mississippi) and “Baianas, Malandros and Samba: Listening to Brazil Through Donald Duck’s Ears” (Global Soundracks: Wesleyan). He holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Tufts University and the University of Michigan, and performance certificates from Escola Brasileira de Música and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.