Overture with the Arts' Annual Tour SONGS OF FREEDOM to Return for Fifth Year

This February marks the 5th anniversary of Overture with the Arts' (OWTA) annual Black History Month school tour, Songs of Freedom (SoF). It's a banner year for the popular initiative which was officially recognized in Ottawa by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation for "building awareness and understanding of Canadian values that are reflective of Canadian diversity". This will also be the second year that the offshoot, Songs and Stories (S&S), continues to enliven Black history for Montreal elementary school students through music and inter-active singing and storytelling.

In addition to special events and several free arts programs that OWTA, (winner of the 2014 Montreal Community Cares Award for "exceptional community involvement and contribution"), offers kids from low income families, Founder and Executive Director, Akilah Newton, (an Entertainment Management graduate from Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), works tirelessly throughout the year to expand the popular Black History Month tours in both content and outreach. "We cracked Western Canada this year- a real feather in our cap to celebrate SoF's 5th anniversary- and for the second time this past fall, we took SoF to England and Germany. New this year, we created a sequel to SoF for schools we've already visited that want us back but need new material. I'm ecstatic that in only 5 years of touring, our small West Island-based outfit now extends far beyond Quebec's borders." All three initiatives will tour Montreal throughout February as well as travel to Central and Western Canada in such cities as Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton and possibly Vancouver.

Part of the success of the program is due to the talent and charisma of the presenters: Jonathan Emile, Tamara Brown and Akilah Newton's twin brother, Omari Newton, a successful actor/playwright/rapper now living in Vancouver. He will animate SoF in Western Canada while Emile concentrates on Quebec and Ontario. Newton readily acknowledges, "I'm really lucky to have these artists working with me. Without exception, kids react positively almost the instant they step on stage or into a classroom- they are just naturally warm and approachable- and they really know their material. By the end of the presentations, even the shiest students are participating in what is essentially a history lesson. Everyone is chatting excitedly, sharing experiences and asking questions. It's incredibly rewarding."

Emile's street cred skyrocketed when the recent release of his music video "Heaven Help Dem", featuring Hip-Hop artist Kendrick Lamar, went viral almost immediately after it hit the web. Emile writes socially conscious lyrics to expose, enlighten and uplift and this latest, dedicated to Fredy Villanueva and other victims of violence, hits home. Still in his twenties, the local singer/songwriter and 2011 Grammy nominee, has had his share of hardship. His own battle with a rare form of cancer while still in his teens helped shape a role model that students look up to and respect. He admits, "It's a whirlwind month but I love it. When you see how engaged the students become, you realize the importance of what you're doing; there's a lot more at stake. By March 1st we're exhausted but it's so worth it."

SoF Parts I & II are aimed as high school, CEGEP and university students, taking them on a journey from Africa to the New World, through the Civil Rights Movement and up to present day. It demonstrates how throughout history music has been a constant used for introspection, expression, and as a tool for social change. SoF Part II delves more deeply into various stories of oppression around the world in different eras to illustrate how music reflected important events, and more specifically, to explore how it allows the oppressor to see the 'other' as human. Emile uses a wide range of musical genres from African and Spirituals to Folk, R&B and his own compositions.

S&S, geared to children between the ages of 6 and 12, defines simply words like slavery, tolerance, diversity, and inclusion, and briefly outlines the evolution of the African Diaspora, stimulating a love of history and igniting cultural curiosity. Through photos and videos as well as Brown's original spoken word creations, the lyrics and melodies of Traditional Spirituals and Civil Rights songs, kids are sensitized to the plight of all oppressed peoples. S&S animator, local musician and theatre practitioner, Tamara Brown, tells how, "Akilah and I have wanted to work together for years. Our lives kept colliding since we first met singing in the Montreal Jubilation Choir and then again through Black Theatre Workshop. I'm glad it took all this time to finally make it happen; this is such a worthwhile, and fun, project."

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