Kitka is currently gathering, documenting and creatively re-interpreting traditional lullabies that have been passed on in the oral tradition by generations of Balkan, Slavic, Georgian and Armenian women. We are learning many breathtaking and tender melodies directly from native singers who heard them sung by their mothers and grandmothers. These songs will be shared through a new CD with a companion songbook, and a 2009 30th Anniversary Season national concert tour.
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Kitka a $25,000 matching grant specifically for our Lullabies and Songs of Childhood Project!
Will you help us meet this challenge by making a gift today? Every dollar you give before June 30th will be matched by the NEA!
Research for this project has already connected us to generations of singing women in profound ways. The gorgeous traditional lullabies we learned recently from the legendary Armenian folk singer Hasmik Harutyunyan are still resounding in our hearts. Hasmik learned many of these songs from her grandmother, Mafo, pictured below.
Make an online gift to Kitka's LULLABIES FUND today.
DONATELook into Mafo's eyes. You can feel her love, her pain, and her longing for a better life for her children and grandchildren. Now imagine her pouring all these deep feelings into a song.
In Hasmik's words, "Every mother in the world wants the same thing for her children… to grow up healthy, happy, and secure. When a mother sings a lullaby, it is a sacred, magical act… like a meditation. She summons all the powers of creation to soothe, strengthen, and protect her baby. A lullaby connects the whole universe with the cradle. In the old country, mothers rarely had the opportunity to talk with anyone other than their children. A child understands and remembers everything. When they grow up, everything you've sung for them, wished for them, and given to them comes back in return…"
Song sharing is a vital part of Kitka's musical practice. Now, we invite you to participate in our creative process.
Those who contribute $50 or more to our Lullabies and Songs of Childhood Project before June 30th, will be invited to a special song sharing gathering in early September. We'll preview lullabies we've collected including those we learned from Hasmik. (For those living outside the San Francisco Bay Area, we'll send you recordings of our favorites by post or email.) If you have cherished lullabies or songs from your youth, we encourage you to bring them for us all to sing. This event will be open only to contributors to this project. Details of this gathering will be announced soon. We hope you'll be able to join us!
May nurturing love through music continue to sustain us all.
Yours in harmony,
The Women of Kitka
Donate now to Kitka's Lullabies and Songs of Childhood Project and learn about special thank you gift's Kitka is offering to those who contribute towards our NEA match by June 30.