By Emma Hoffman ’16, Staff Writer

If I could name the three most common words in my art history class they would go as follows: Renaissance, modeling, and appropriation. Appropriation, or the borrowing of a cultural element, has taken on a rather a sour tone recently, following highly publicized incidents of and discussions about racism and white privilege. Highlighted by the Equity and Inclusion Team and Revolution Week, these discussions have found their way into the NA culture at large. Whenever I hear Ms. Galvin use the word “appropriate” within the context of art, my mind always drifts to images of Katy Perry dressed as Cleopatra with bedazzled grillz and Miley Cyrus’s blonde dreadlocks as they swing wildly with her twerking.

A large part of our cultural heritage is built on some form of either cultural appropriation or exchange. After conquering modern day Spain, the Umayyad Dynasty appropriated the Visigothic horseshoe arch in their mosques as a means of asserting their hegemony over the region. French impressionists modeled their pieces after ukiyo-e prints soon after Commodore Matthew Perry opened Japan and Japonisme became all the rage among fashionable European circles. Portuguese caskets and manuscripts may have inspired some of the designs seen on Benin Bronzes. The list goes on.

Of course, there is a key difference between cultural exchange and appropriation. Cultural exchange suggests a mutual understanding and respect when one partakes in another’s culture. Appropriation, however, connotes an unequal power dynamic where the dominant culture absorbs elements from an oppressed group and treats them as exotic means to satisfy a certain vanity. Which brings us to the choral department.

During the choral assembly this past December, senior Noah Peace walked out of the performance after the choir sang “I Sing Because I’m Happy,” an arrangement of the gospel hymn by Civila D. Martin. Peace later explained that he meant no disrespect towards Mr. Lal or the choir, but that he didn’t like, “how every single year there is some sort of dance or step that goes along with the song that, to me, is offensive to my culture and my roots. It would be different if the movements were performed accurately but that is just not the case and it just makes my culture look silly. I walked out of the concert because I was, quite frankly, tired of seeing my culture and heritage butchered by the choir not necessarily in the context of the singing, because I think that it’s done very well, but in the context of the movements done on stage during the concert. That is why I walked out.”

Shortly after Peace’s departure, conversations about the choir’s degree of cultural awareness emerged. Some students felt that it was rather uncomfortable watching a predominantly white choir sing gospel music and African freedom songs. They argued that the choir somehow trivialized the black experience and engaged in an inappropriate expression of black culture. Others recalled Academy Voice’s song and dance performance of A.R. Rahman’s “Jai Ho” as ridiculous at best and offensive at worst.

There is, however, a distinct difference between Iggy Azalea and choral music. Music is the most intangible form of art; you cannot touch or see it. It evokes a different response in each listener but it is because of that intangibility that it makes such a potent form of cultural expression. One does not need to venture to a museum or buy a book to appreciate it. It is passed down through generations and internalized by those who hear it. Choral programs play an integral part in sharing music that does not enter the traditional pop-music sphere, such as Japanese folk songs and classical pieces, within their respective communities. Not only do they introduce audiences to different genres, they allow singers to learn how to appreciate diverse styles and forms, expanding their musical and cultural vocabulary.

Mr. Lal seeks to be as culturally accurate and respectful as possible in both Concert Choir and Academy Voices. Whenever Academy Voices learns a song in a foreign language, he will provide pronunciation practice files created by a native speaker. For example, Ms. Santos, a native Portuguese speaker, provided a track of her speaking the lyrics to “Muie Rendera,” a Brazilian folk song. A Bollywood choreographer initially directed our “Jai Ho” number, which Ms. Lux later completed. She emphasized the importance of practicing the mudras, or hand positions, as they contain deep symbolic meaning within traditional Indian dance and can be rather offensive if bungled. We listen to recordings of choirs and recordings that specialize in spirituals and African-American music, such as The Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Sweet Honey in The Rock. In my personal opinion, one of our finest moments as a choral department came when Academy Voices collaborated with the dance department and Ms. Powell to explore the legacy of Alvin Alley and the power of spirituals. It was an educational and powerful experience for everyone involved.

If the choir has made any seemingly insensitive blunder, it is most likely aesthetic and does not come from a desire to mock or belittle. Academy Voices consists of singers with varying degrees of dance experience; some of the awkwardness and self-deprecation onstage may have transferred to the audience as well. The same goes for the gospel steps described by Peace. An incomplete rendering of a cultural aesthetic does not imply appropriation – see the infamous báhn mì outrage at Oberlin College – but that the artists involved lack true expertise. As hard as the choral department tries, we will never sound quite like an authentic gospel group, Bollywood singers, or even a professional masterworks choir. We can, however, continue to strive towards our highest level of excellence, both in our cultural awareness and musicality, and listen to the concerns of our primary audience: the NA community.