Crespo, Hamilton Educators to Share Talents with Students in Africa
HISD music teacher Phillip Hall and dance instructor Aisha Ussery will travel to South Africa to share their artistic talents with elementary and middle school students in an experimental cultural exchange program. Ussery left on August 19, and Hall is scheduled to leave on August 25. Both will return to Houston by September 6.
Hall is a piano instructor at HISD's Manuel Crespo Elementary School (7500 Office City Dr., 77012) and Ussery is a theater and dance teacher at HISD's Alexander Hamilton Middle School (139 East 20th Street, 77008).
The teachers will be traveling under the sponsorship of the Department of Education of South Africa and the Nelson Mandela Institute. Upon their arrival, they we will be collaborating with renowned performer, Omari Tau, who has toured extensively with Disney's "The Lion King".
"I am ecstatic that I've been asked to utilize my gift as a pianist in South Africa and collaborate with an incredible composer such as Mr. Tau, who has been commissioned to write a choral piece celebrating Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday," said Hall. "After conducting individual and corporate music lessons, we plan on mounting a large concert for South African school administrators to showcase area talent and to underscore the necessity of a high-quality arts education."
"It is my hope that my American school can "adopt" a South African school and initiate musical exchanges," Hall added. "Upon my return, I plan to share my experiences with the children of Crespo Elementary and let them know that I would travel the world for them to garner educational resources."
"It is an extreme honor to visit, work, and learn in South Africa. I am excited to survey the land and the needs of its people as it refers to education, life and the fine arts," said Ussery. "The exchange of knowledge between Africa's schools and Hamilton Middle School will be life-changing. My art form and I shall never be the same after touching the soil and souls of South Africa."
As part of the artistic mission there, Hall and Ussery will examine cultural similarities and differences in arts education, and both hope to initiate a student exchange program with Crespo and Hamilton schools. The program will culminate in several performances, which will include a commissioned piece marking the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela.
