Some of the world's most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U. S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It's Jason Moran's job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center's artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
"Jazz seems like it's not really a part of the American appetite, "Moran tells National Public Radio's reporter Neal Conan. "What I'm hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and white anymore. It's actually color, and it's actually digital. "
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. "The music can't be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same, "says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller's music for a dance party, "just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music," says Moran. "For me, it's the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context," says Moran, "so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster. "
In the coming months, we are bringing together artists from all over the globe, to enjoy speaking Shakespeare's plays in their own language, in our Globe, within the architecture Shakespeare wrote for. Please come and join us.
National Theatre of China Beijing|Chinese
This great occasion(盛会) will be the National Theatre of China's first visit to the UK. The company's productions show the new face of 21st century Chinese theatre. This production of Shakespeare's Richard Ⅲ will be directed by the National's Associate Director, Wang Xiaoying.
Date &Time: Saturday 28 April, 2. 30pm & Sunday 29 April, 1. 30pm & 6. 30pm
Marjanishvili Theatre Tbilisi|Georgian
One of the most famous theatres in Georgia, the Marjanishvili, founded in 1928, appears regularly at theatre festivals all over the world. This new production of As You Like It is helmed(指导)by the company's Artistic Director Levan Tsuladze.
Date &Time: Friday 18 May, 2. 30pm&Sunday 19 May, 7. 30pm
Deafinitely Theatre London|British Sign Language(BSL)
By translating the rich and humorous text of Love's Labour's Lost into the physical language of BSL, Deafinitely Theatre creates a new interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy and aims to build a bridge between deaf and hearing worlds by performing to both groups as one audience.
Date &Time: Tuesday 22 May, 2. 30pm&Wednesday 23 May, 7. 30pm
Habima National Theatre Tel Aviv|Hebrew
The Habima is the centre of Hebrew-language theatre worldwide. Founded in Moscow after the 1905 revolution, the company eventually settled in Tel Aviv in the late 1920s. Since 1958, they have been recognized as the national theatre of Israel. This production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice marks their first visit to the UK.
Date &Time: Monday 28 May, 7. 30pm &Tuesday 29 May, 7. 30pm
When I was 14, I decided to make some pocket money by (help) Mr Miller cut the grass in his garden. I worked hard because that was my first part-time job. After working for one week, Mr Miller said that he had no money for me. That surprised me (great). I argued with him, and then I went back home in anger.
My parents told me not to be angry Mr Miller because was in difficulties. Then my mother called up Mr Miller and they (talk) about something on the phone. A few days later, my mother asked me to return to Mr Miller's garden because he was too weak (look) after it.
When I came back, Mr Miller said, "Sorry, I've no money, but I can do something for you. " He played a CD for me. (hear) the beautiful music, I was so (interest) in it that I forgot the money and did the work with pleasure. At last, Mr Miller gave me a ticket to a concert.
After that, I became very fond of music. Now I'm one of the most popular (sing)in my country. I can never Mr Miller too much.
