By APRIL BANACH
Contributing Writer
When tuning into NBC’s Saturday Night Live, the Emmy Award-winning comedy show, one can expect a night packed with star-studded guests and gut busting comedy skits. SNL provides its viewers with many sources of entertainment including exceptional music. On April 10th, an 18-year veteran of the show’s house band visited The College of Saint Rose.
“Music is really a part of my growing up, I remember being 4 or 5 and singing,” says Valerie Naranjo, world-renowned percussionist. Naranjo grew up in Colorado surrounded by a family where music was constantly practiced and encouraged. She picked up her first instrument, the drums, when she was 9 years old. Naranjo has dabbled with several instruments including guitar, the flute and the trumpet but chose percussion as her undergraduate study at the University of Oklahoma; the place where Naranjo first discovered her interest in West African music.
“One course made me really be aware of my groove and it steered me toward world music and pop music, which is what I do today,” said Naranjo. From the University of Oklahoma, Naranjo continued her graduate studies at Ithaca College and soon found herself playing tunes on the streets of New York City, where she grew as a performer. “I took everyone’s suggestions to heart. As a performer, it’s a challenge to meet everybody where they are,” admits Naranjo.
Though she faced musical challenges daily in New York, Naranjo had no problem finding love with her fellow band mate and husband of 31 years, Barry Olsen. The couple’s love for music led to the creation of their band, Mandara, in 1984. The group’s name is of a Buddhist origin; it is a tree full with blossoms that exits in a paradise. “W
e felt like our music was a little piece of that beautiful world we all want to belong to and decided to use that image for our group,” said Naranjo. “We just want to share joy and happiness with our a
udience.”
Naranjo sticks to West African music when playing with her band or during her solo performances; the gyil, a marimba originating in Ghana, being her instrument of choice. As a graduate student at Ithaca College, Naranjo was assigned the gyil for a research project. With little information about the instrument, Naranjo made the brave decision to visit Africa to further connect with the gyil but had no idea she would be making history on her voyage.
Arriving to the city of Lawra, Ghana in 1988, Naranjo was unaware of the tradition of women being forbidden to use the gyil before performing on the instrument for the Chief of the village. Naranjo’s display was so impressive that the Chief overruled the long existing rule, now allowing women to play the gyil. “I was able to break that ice. As a Buddhist, I always want to leave something with people, something that is really valuable. And I was able to do that for the village of Lawra.” Naranjo affected a culture that day, creating a path for change and equality for the women of Lawra, but she’s impacted other lives, too.
“As an inspiration in my life, it was personally gratifying to be able to host her visit to the college,” said Carolyn Stallard via e-mail. St
allard has worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA member since 2011, primarily with Saint Rose and R.I.S.S.E, the Refugee and Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus. Stallard reached out to Naranjo to put on a benefit concert for R.I.S.S.E. “Music education is something I am passionate about,” said Stallard, “and therefore I would love to one day be as powerful and impactful a clinician/educator as sh
e is.”
Naranjo was able to touch audience members with her performance on April 10th. “The show was really good, the music and dances brought me right back to my home village” says Adama Barry, a junior at The College of Saint Rose and African native. “She’s so passionate about her work, it makes you really connect with the songs”.
To learn more about Valerie Naranjo, her accomplishments and the band Mandara, log onto www.mandaramusic.com.
