Creating Community Through Harmony: The Power of Music at I-House Berkeley
December marks the start of the holiday season across a variety of cultures and is brimming with diverse cultural traditions across the world. Whether it is Christmas caroling, drumming circles at Kwanzaa celebrations, or Chinese New Year Gong Xi, music is an integral part of the holiday season and brings communities together during this festive time of year. At I-House, residents from over 80 countries come together to celebrate each others’ cultural holiday musical traditions.
When you’re lounging in the Great Hall where random musical gatherings spring to life, you will experience music’s spontaneity. Strolling by the Hall of History or Chevron Auditorium, musical creativity and performance fill the air. Residents enjoy the cultural melodies that echo from Heller Patio on Wednesday evenings during DiversiTea & Coffee Hour. Even walking through resident hallways, the sounds of practice and playlists drift behind the doors. You are bound to get a taste of the diverse musical talent of I-House residents! From impromptu jam sessions to cultural performances, everyday life at I-House is rich with a vibrant soundtrack. Music unites the community as a universal language. It transcends all borders.
The Great Hall: Holiday Harmonies
One of the hallmarks of the Great Hall that I-House alumni recall with much nostalgia is the large grand piano. The piano has witnessed generations of talented residents gracing its keys and making music that captivates everyone in the hall. Oftentimes, a resident starts playing the piano and more and more residents join in to sing along to the tunes – from the Great Hall floor as well as the balconies that overlook the piano.
“After every weekly Coffee Hour and Sunday Supper, we would gather in the Great Hall. Someone would play the piano, and we’d sing folk songs from around the world.”
– Kwei Sang Ü (IH 1961-65)
The entire hall resonates with a spirit of joy and unity through song. Residents enjoy the warmth of the Great Hall as they lounge on the couches and play board games with friends. Others study while the piano music sets the ambiance. The music acts as a blissful backdrop and uplifts everyone’s mood, especially during the holiday season when the Great Hall is decked with festive decorations. These include the large Christmas tree, a menorah, and the warm fireplace crackling away. Piano music beautifully transforms the space and lends a cozy holiday feel.
Over the decades, I-House residents have compiled songbooks, documenting their favorite international songs. Below are photos of these songbooks that we found in our archives.
Alumna Madeleine Wulffson (IH 1967-69) from United States remembers,
“In those days we had regular singalong where we sang folk songs we compiled into a book called ‘Musicanto.’ Residents and guests sang with us, most often after the monthly Sunday Suppers, either in the Auditorium or Great Hall.”
These singalongs in the Great Hall have become a cherished tradition. They have taken on a new name in recent years – Open Mic Nights! Residents are invited to grab a mic or an instrument and showcase their talents. Many performers sing or play songs in their native language. The audience joins in by dancing to the lively tunes!
Music Practice Rooms: Where Musical Creativity is Born
Another key space that has shaped the musical creativity at I-House are the Music Practice Rooms. Here, resident musicians and amateurs alike come to unwind and immerse themselves in music.
“One of the best things of living at International House as a musician is that you have access to two music rooms with a wide variety of instruments: Two pianos, a set of drums, guitars, a violin, bongos, tambourines, and even a ‘Cajón,’ a box-shaped drum invented in Peru that is often used in Flamenco music.”
– Juan Antonio Pérez (IH 2018-19).
The I-House music rooms are truly where the musical craft and creativity of residents is built. Residents often get together and have “jam” sessions where they improvise music and simply experiment – a form of social gathering and communal practice session, fostering collaboration and building community. While language often serves as a barrier to cross-cultural expression and communication, music transcends these limitations.
While browsing our archives, I found this photo of alumni from the 1940s playing music together!
Elliott Castello (IH 1946-49) next to Nancy Nowell Brewer (IH 1947-49) in center, at one of many musical evenings during the “Golden Age of I-House.” Many fondly remember his (Elliott’s) tenor voice serenading from the Home Room stairs with the singing group, The Jahdrools. Also, Nancy met her future husband, Bob, in The Jahdrools!
In the Music Practice Rooms, residents get together periodically to compose and/or rehearse, and prepare for upcoming performances at I-House events and concerts. The rooms especially get busy during the holiday season with residents prepping for Sunday Suppers and the Benefit Concerts.
The connections made in the music rooms have extended far beyond I-House.
I-House alum Peter Kaiser (IH 1963) recalls,
“Coming from Germany in 1963, I met my future wife, Anafu Murano (IH 1963-65) from Japan, later that year while playing Beethoven Violin/Piano Sonatas in the I-House Music Room. In 2005, we celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary (with two married children and five grandchildren) – always fondly remembering the I-House in Berkeley that brought us together through music and was home for us when we first met.”
Pictured below, I-House alumni Lukas Hackl (IH 2011), from Germany, and Bilen Akuzum (IH 2011-12), from Turkey, recall “…starting our company…none of this would have been possible without the I-House pizza party at which we first met and the I-House music room in which we’d hang out after class to jam together.”
I-House Music Club
From these jam sessions emerge many I-House music groups and bands, including the I-House Music Club, I-House Jazz Band, and in recent years by our Millennial and GenZ I-House residents, a Whatsapp community for I-House Musicians! The first I-House music club (which happened to be self-initiated!) dates back to 2009. Residents from all over the world gathered regularly for informal jams around the House, with occasional performances in the Great Hall. Over the years, more residents started to collaborate, and the performances grew bigger and bigger.
Alumna and vocalist Renee Asteria says, “The opportunity to perform at Sunday Supper in spring 2006 and impromptu late-night jam sessions in the Great Hall brought us together. Little did we know that our musical ensemble would live on!” The group, which got its start as The I-House Band, developed into a unique cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary fusion, and released musical albums afterward.
Chevron Auditorium: Home of Music for a Cause
Chevron Auditorium has long been the home of the performing arts at I-House, where residents showcase their musical talents at the bi-annual Sunday Suppers, Resident Benefit Concerts, and many more events. The auditorium is equipped with an immersive state-of-the-art sound system, high-quality microphones, and an expert audio and lighting crew, to empower residents with a professional-scale platform on which to showcase their musical talents. The space is truly a haven for musical creativity as residents form their own bands, perform their own arrangements, share their unique cultural music styles, and even debut their original songs.
Through these concerts, residents have donated proceeds to different organizations locally and around the world—from flood survivors in Pakistan to tsunami victims in Japan, Haiti earthquake relief, Berkeley Food Pantry, and Syria and Turkey earthquake reliefs.
More Cross-cultural Musical Memories
Music gatherings at I-House have fostered the cross-cultural sharing of songs.
Alumna Zahwa Amad (IH 1982-86) from Kuwait spent her winter holidays at I-House and remembers cooking and eating with residents who had remained in town.
“There were always other residents there, and we had such a wonderful time. I learned Christmas songs—I had never heard them before. And I really love the song, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’!”
Notable alumna Urvashi Sahni (IH 1994) visited I-House recently and said that she recalls seeing Harry Belefonte perform and speak at the 1994 I-House Gala! She was amazed to witness such an icon of civil rights and free speech here in the Chevron Auditorium.
Alum Vishwanath Bulusu (IH 2014-16) from India summarized it well:
“Day one in Berkeley and someone knocked on my door, ‘Hey, I love that music you are playing.’ That was my French neighbor. I met my first new face of the year. Six months later there was a post, ‘I’m new at I-House…who’d like to jam sometime.’ We went on to put together an international resident band of sorts, where a Belgian and a Spanish lead guitarist, a German bass guitarist, Dutch and Irish drummers, a Mexican pianist and an Indian singer, made a multicultural crowd go crazy and joyfully jingle to an American song about Young Men…If the world is my music, I-House is my stage. Living here has been a vibrant rhythmic ride. I still remember when twenty three Intercultural Leadership Initiative residents, each from a different culture, encouraged me to sing my national anthem and stood up in attention for the pride and honor of my country. I have never felt more Indian, I have never been more global.”
In recent years, residents have been adding playlists and songs to the I-House Spotify profile!
At I-House, music is the thread that weaves together residents from all corners of the world, creating a tapestry of shared memories and special connections for a lifetime.
What are your favorite musical memories of I-House? Did you make lasting connections through music at I-House that you cherish today? Do you carry with you a musical tradition you learned during your time at I-House? Do you have a song or playlist you’d like us to add to our Spotify? Let us know in the comments below!