Short Summary
Hello!! My name is Ana Barreiro, I'm a musician originally from Brazil now living in Los Angeles-CA where I am finishing my masters in Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California. I play the drums and have for over 14 years! Besides USC, I've also studied at the Conservatorio Souza Lima in São Paulo and went to Berklee College of Music for my undergrad. I've been studying music for a while and I love playing jazz and Brazilian music. I'm also passionate about people and one of my favorite characteristics of music is the strong connection that it can create with people. I love that music forces us to a deeper level of interaction and can translate a message from one individual to another.
Listen To The Story came to be after going to an
event at USC organized by the “Jewish World Watch” where they had Dr Denis
Mukwege speak about his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dr Mukwege is the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known for its support for survivors of sexual violence. After
hearing his stories, he told us to keep telling these stories so other people
would become aware of their situation. I realized that this is what musicians
usually try to do; we try to tell stories. I've always heard from teachers how you should be telling a story when composing a piece of music, or when playing a drum solo. I decided then to combine our
artistic role of storytellers with this calling from Dr Mukwege to share these
much important stories.
Listen To The Story is working towards creating music that tells the
stories of Congolese people and how the conflict over minerals have affected
their lives. Our purpose is to connect people through music, by sharing their stories to raise awareness and create a community that acknowledges things need to change.
Our goal is to tell four stories and have those recorded and made
available in any and every outlet possible. We will also record videos and
print booklets with artwork and information such as the lyrics, how to listen to these
stories and what to do to help. We aspire to create transformative and
informative music opening a door for people to think and act with what they
have and where they are.
I believe that this project will open a door to reach people that otherwise wouldn't hear about these women, and also stimulate the artistic community to get more involved in diplomacy and world issues.
What We Need & What You Get
We are trying to raise $11000.
From that amount $5500 will be donated to the Panzi Foundation and $5500 will be used for the production and post-production of the music including:
$2500 for booklets (we will
print over 10,000). They will have the lyrics and information on where to listen to the story the book is telling you about. We will distribute these in universities,events, shows, and mail them to politicians and world leaders, entertainers...)
$2000 studio+mixing/mastering
$1000 general expenses (choir transport $300+fees and taxes+in studio budget)
$5500 total=$11000
Any extra funds will be donated
to the Panzi Foundation.
We have some reeeeeally exciting perks! All of them show our gratitude towards you. You can get postcards, a personalized poem, awesome CDs... and you can also be in the special thanks area of the booklet. :) See what works for you and get on board with Listen To The Story!
Other Ways You Can Help
Please share our project and ideas with your friends!!! Just as we are trying to tell stories, tell our story to anyone you think would consider engaging in our campaign.
