Drums of Rwanda

Drums of Rwanda celebrates the struggle of the people of Rwanda to overcome the tremendous forces of evil using the Rwanda National Anthem adopted in 2001.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 3 | Duration: 3:30

Instrumentation
Flute 1/2
Oboe
Bassoon
Bb Clarinet 1
Bb Clarinet 2
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Bb Trumpet 1
Bb Trumpet 2
F Horn
Trombone
Euphonium
(TC Baritone)
Tuba

Timpani (3)
Percussion 1 (Xylophone, Bells)
Percussion 2 (Cowbell, 2 Brake Drums)
Percussion 3 (Bongos, Crash Cymbals)
Percussion 4 (Congas, Suspended Cymbal)
Percussion 5 (2 Small Bass Drums, Bells)

Program Notes
From April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east-central African nation of Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. Begun by extreme Hutu nationalists in the capital of Kigali, the genocide spread throughout the country with staggering speed and brutality, as ordinary citizens were incited by local officials and the Hutu Power government to take up arms against their neighbors. By the time the Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front gained control of the country through a military offensive in early July, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were dead and many more displaced from their homes. The RPF victory created 2 million more refugees (mainly Hutus) from Rwanda, exacerbating what had already become a full-blown humanitarian crisis.

After its victory, the RPF established a coalition government similar to that agreed upon at Arusha, with Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, as president and Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, as vice president and defense minister. Habyarimana's NRMD party, which had played a key role in organizing the genocide, was outlawed, and a new constitution adopted in 2003 eliminated reference to ethnicity. The new constitution was followed by Kagame's election to a 10-year term as Rwanda's president and the country's first-ever legislative elections. (http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide)

Drums of Rwanda celebrates the struggle of the people of Rwanda to overcome the tremendous forces of evil using the Rwanda National Anthem adopted in 2001.