September 16th, 2020.
Music and culture
MUSICFEST
by Prof. Ms. Fernando Benites
With genesis in the efforts of Professor Raquel Silvano Almeida for teaching the textual genre Song in the discipline Introduction to English Language, MusicFest was an event that grew, took shape following entirely new parameters, and enchanted undergraduates, former students, teachers and the general public over the past month of August. Organized by professors Raquel and Fernando Benites, and students Julia Salviatto and Alex Mendes, both from the first year, Musicfest has given room to students and graduates who are interested in music and want to expose their talents and work, encouraging them to participate in four different categories: Song Performance, Song composition, Song Videoclip and Song Parody.
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Thus, between August 3rd and 28th, through the course Instagram (@ ingles.letras), we had the opportunity to appreciate vocal performances, compositions and artistic reproductions of video clips. First placed in partnership with Viviane Vargas in the Song Composition category, student Giovana Martinez stated: “Participating in Musicfest was a somewhat challenging experience! Composing a song in another language was a challenge that I loved to overcome together with my colleague to make it happen, creating a song from the beginning. Participating in the event was very enriching and aroused an old preference for writing and expressing myself through music, and the prize was a great incentive to continue investing in this hobby”!
In the words of Professor Fernando, the event sought to strenghten ties among the groups and between them and the university. Vanessa Caroline, second placed in the Song Performance category, corroborates this thought: “One of the coolest things about our course is these opportunities that students have to show their talents and share fun moments in events like these. So, participating in Musicfest was really fun. I thought the event's initiative was really cool, the students and other people were able to show their musical talents, besides giving space for English on social networks. I myself always liked to sing, but I had never participated in an event in which I would be judged and I would need ‘likes’ to count votes and such ... I met a competitive side of me that I didn't know. The freshmen and teachers held a remote event in a well-organized manner, mainly in terms of the judgment of the participants. I was very happy to have been one of the winners, because all the participants performed very well ”.
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Awarded with scholarships for English courses, music classes or vouchers for the purchase of instruments or other items, the first placed in each category saw their talent render them, in addition to visibility and learning, a recognition that transcends mere greetings. For Professor Fernando, “one of the functions of the university is to reveal to students that their life experience is very important for learning and research and, in the context of a foreign language, we were able to make it clear that a hobby or a non-professional activity can have great value in aggregating knowledge ”.
The videos of all participants can still be seen on the course's Instagram, so it's worth checking out! Musicfest, at last, ended up bringing a lot of joy to the period of social isolation that still extends... and who knows, it may have marked its name at the forefront of a series of events, online or not, dedicated to spreading the talent and promote joy!