Last tour stop in Red Oak, Iowa

By Eric Young Smith, tour manager

After another inspiring week in Charleston, Illinois, we faced our longest drive thus far on our tour. The GPS informed me that our drive from Charleston, Illinois to Red Oak, Iowa was a daunting 470 miles, or eight and a half hours on the road.

While I have traversed this distance in one day many times, I couldn’t help but think this would be a cross-country trek a few times over back home for my Israeli friends. They had already repeatedly expressed their awareness of a difference in scale: big house, big car, big food, big sky, big country.

Despite reiterated plans to gather for a relaxing meal after our arrival in Red Oak, once we found ourselves checked in to the hotel, most ensemble members were more interested in getting acquainted with their pillows. I also resigned to having a snack and getting a good night’s sleep.

After the long travel day, we all received a well-deserved day of rest. Some band members slept in and then spent the day rehearsing, while Yamma’s percussionist, Aviad, and I met with our Red Oak host, the Executive Director of the Wilson Performing Arts Center (WPAC), Kara Sherman.

Kara gave us a brief tour of Red Oak, and it wasn’t long before we felt like we had known her for years. On the tour, she explained that WPAC is a brand new facility designed especially for the per¬forming arts. The center’s mission is to bring inspiration and education to southwest Iowa through the performing arts.

Over the course of the Arts Midwest World Fest week, the WPAC brought students by bus to hear Yamma Ensemble play their wondrous music and tell their enlightening stories. This was great! What kid doesn’t get excited about a field trip? While we did visit a few schools for specialty workshops with music stu¬dents, the tangibility of the experiences at WPAC seemed especially gratifying for Yamma.

For their fifth and final public concert for this part of the tour, Yamma Ensemble gave an inspired and spiritual performance. Nearly every seat was filled, and as the audience members left the theater, every one resonated with the complexity of rhythms in Israeli music and culture.

Thank you Kara, and everyone at WPAC for your hospitality and friendship. We all had a wonderful time in Red Oak, and I will always find inspiration in your dedication to offer art and culture to Red Oak and the entirety of southwest Iowa.

Yamma Ensemble workshop at the Wilson Performing Arts Center. Photo by Eric Young Smith.