Bodywork - More than a Massage

A Celebration

Flyways is a musical celebration of the great bird migration between Africa and Eurasia along the Great Rift Valley. It follows the birds’ long journeys using music of the cultures over which the birds fly, interwoven with the voices of the birds themselves. The project calls attention to the interconnectedness of all forms of diversity, from birds to local cultures, and to the need for international collaboration to protect them.

The music will be performed by a new international ensemble, The Great Rift Valley Orchestra, comprised of musicians from cultures throughout the region and including members of the Paul Winter Consort. This ensemble will record the Flyways CD and DVD, and present concerts throughout the world.

Flyways is a project of Music for the Earth, a non-profit organization,  in collaboration with a range of partners, including environmental organizations, ornithologists, conservationists, ethno-musicologists, and musicians.

Flyways Project Overview

To many people, migrating birds are harbingers of the seasons, and spirit messengers, revered for their extraordinary powers. To others, they are symbols of power, peace and freedom. But migrating birds face many threats, and each year, fewer birds of many species succeed in returning to their breeding grounds, largely because key habitats along their routes of passage, or flyways, are damaged or destroyed.

Each spring and fall, traveling between breeding grounds in the north and wintering areas in the south, more than half a billion birds of about 280 species follow the Great Rift Valley, one of the most important raptor and soaring bird migration corridors in the world.

The Great Rift Valley is a vast geographical and geological feature on the face of the Earth, running some 5,000 km from Turkey to Mozambique, embracing a stunning array of cultures as well as extraordinary biodiversity.

Conservation of Culture and Habitat

Conservation of the wide range of ecosystems along the Rift helps protect key habitats for the birds; it also helps preserve diverse lifeways. Throughout the region many traditions of music and dance are currently undervalued and in decline. Embedded in these music traditions is a cultural heritage that is in danger of disappearing.

Flyways is a musical metaphor for the richness and interdependence of life in all its forms. A celebration of the birds' extraordinary journey, using the music from the cultures over which they fly and the voices of the birds themselves, the project's purpose is to support conservation relating to the birds and to affirm the music traditions found throughout the region.

Visit Flyways website to hear the music and see the video >>