Sounds of Australia on Campus

Left to right: Nardi, Jilda, Lucy, and Kaleena

The saying that music is a language that imparts images is true of the Freshwater group, who performed on the nights of February 10 and 11 in West Hall. Presented by the Australian Embassy in collaboration with AUB's Office of Information and Public Relations and sponsored by Singapore Airlines, the concert blended old and new images of the vocal memory of today's Australia.

The group consisted of Australian women of aboriginal ancestry: sisters Nardi, Jilda, and Lucy Simpson of Barwon, Namoi Rivers of New South Wales, and Kaleena Briggs of Murrumbidgee. Bringing the sounds and sights of Australia through songs that told of "their own constant flow between the rivers and the cities," the women also performed new songs written in their own languages, which "combined past, present, and future, and the continuing age-old traditions in modern times."

Despite the simple instrumentality of the music, the superimposed tonalities of the vocals, percussions, and guitar chords culminated in a rich blend of rhythms representing the landscape, customs, riches, and wildlife of Australia.

The Australian ambassador to Lebanon, Lyndall Sachs, who gave the opening speech on both nights, said: "Cultural diversity has become a touchstone of Australia's national identity. The indigenous cultures of Australia-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who inhabited most areas of the Australian continent before the arrival of European settlers-are some of the oldest living cultures in the world. They are extremely diverse, with hundreds of different languages and varying cultural traditions. They have a deep connection with the land and a very strong culture of music and the oral tradition."

Freshwater ended their performance with a popular national song, called "My Island Home," as a tribute to all those away from their homes in Australia.