Berea musical group speaks universal language

Andy McDonald

KIYOSATO, JAPAN — The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble has experienced its share of appreciative crowds, but the group’s admirers in Kiyosato, Japan, reacted in a way Friday night that was most unexpected.

Just minutes into the start of the ensemble’s performance at the Seisen Ryo Lodge, the impeccably polite and staid residents of Hokuto City let loose with their best “Yee haws,” began clapping to the music, then took to the dance floor.

“So far, in the regular performances, we’ve never gotten people to do the Bunny Hop,” said Al White, the director and a performer with the ensemble. “They spontaneously danced around the floor. We don’t usually get that in a concert.”

The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble was touring Hokuto City last week as part of a cultural exchange program sponsored by the American Committee for KEEP [Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project] and the Madison County International Committee.

While the 24-member delegation from Richmond and Berea have extended hands of friendship to the citizens of Madison County’s sister region, Hokuto City, the music of the ensemble’s seven singers and musicians often proves to be the most powerful element in bringing the two peoples together.

“What’s most important is the feeling we get that transcends language,” White said. “Music can go directly from the giver to the receiver and back again with no complications over language. I love music for that. I can’t speak two words of Japanese, but when we start playing banjos and fiddles and start singing, there’s nothing that’s lost.”

White is no stranger to international travel, having performed with his family as part of a cultural exchange program for the United States Information Agency. As director of the Bluegrass Ensemble and the musical group that accompanies the Berea College County Dancers, White has continued to perform overseas.

While the group gives a lot to its audiences around the world, White said the experience is invaluable for Appalachian students because it allows them to view their culture through the eyes of different peoples.

“I like to take groups overseas because it helps them appreciate their own music so much more than they would otherwise,” said White. “This music [Bluegrass] is very cross-cultural in that it connects with other people. But, it also makes our students appreciate their own culture more. It helps them appreciate who they are, and we’re very appreciative of the opportunity to share this on the other side of the planet.”

One highlight of the delegation’s visit to Hokuto City was a stop at Nagasaka Junior High School, where the Madison County crew was treated to a concert by an award-winning band.

At one point, there was a short break in the event when the Americans had to retrieve a musical instrument for an impromptu performance.

Minutes passed in the nearly silent hall. The Americans stared at their Japanese counterparts, while the Japanese youth stared silently at their American guests, who, in turn, seemed to be staring back at the Japanese. But when bass player John Bradley Jr. suddenly picked up his instrument and began improvising, an enthusiastic “Ooh!” went through the ensemble of Japanese youth. A connection was made. Bradley was communicating in a language they could understand.

After the performance, Bradley was swarmed with young admirers, who called after him as he left with the delegation.

“Music is a universal language,” said Bradley, who said he hopes to carry on the musical tradition of his famous mom, Dale Ann Bradley. “It’s very powerful, and it has made me appreciate music more.”

The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble performed over the weekend at the Paul Rusch Festival Yatsugatake County Fair. The event is staged in the highlands of Japan to honor the late Kentucky resident Paul Rusch, an Episcopal missionary who worked to rebuild the Yatsugatake region following the devastation of World War II.

The fair was initially conceived as an event that would promote economic development, health and welfare of the local people. But over half a century after the first Yatsugatake Country Fair, the event is now a way to honor Rusch and to promote KEEP’s ideals of world peace, environmental stewardship, and assisting developing countries to find ways to help their people.

Mandolin Player Will Haizlett has performed for audiences in Ireland and Mexico, but he said he’s never seen the crowds as appreciative as the ones in Hokuto City. The number of participants at Saturday and Sunday’s events was expected to exceed 50,000, according to organizers.

“They are more enthusiastic here than the Irish or Mexican audiences, and those were really great crowds.” Haizlett said.

The delegation and the Bluegrass Ensemble will return to Kentucky on Tuesday.

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