For many University of Wisconsin-Superior students, the summer break was most likely filled with a summertime job, time spent with family and friends and perhaps attending a concert or festival.

Yet few could say they had an experience like senior K-12 music education: choral major Seth Gudmunsen who travelled to Uganda with his father, Shawn, and several UWS Music Department faculty members.

In June, Gudmunsen and his father, along with UW-Superior Music Department faculty members Michael Fuchs, Brett Jones and David Potter, made the long journey to Uganda as part of the Pamoja Project team. Fuchs, Jones and Potter were only able to visit for two weeks, but the Gudmunsens remained in the country for four weeks.

“The reason surrounding the trip was to begin to develop a musical and cultural exchange between Wisconsin and Uganda,” said Shawn Gudmunsen, choral director for the St. Croix Falls School District in Wisconsin and Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) member at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. “The connection to Uganda stems from a 30-year friendship with the cultural ambassador and musician, Okello Kelo Sam. This friendship has led to many U.S. visits to local schools and universities teaching about the culture and music from Uganda. This trip is the first of its kind to Uganda, one that we hope to continue the exchange.”

The goal for the team was to bring American pieces of music, such as spirituals, folk songs, pop music and more, to teach students and performers where they then infuse their own cultural music into the pieces, creating new music together. During this time, the team traveled throughout the country studying the origins of Uganda styles of music, instruments and where they originated. The title of the project, Pamoja, is Swahili for “community,” or “together.”

For Seth Gudmunsen, his involvement with the project began at an early age.

“This project was started because of a 30-year friendship between my dad and Okello Kello Sam,” said Seth Gudmunsen. “Their friendship has grown exponentially throughout those 30 years leading to this project. Before this, my dad wrote his master’s thesis on ‘Cultural Music of Uganda.’ I grew up knowing Sam, who is the cultural ambassador of Uganda, my entire life. I consider him a lifelong teacher, mentor and friend, but to me he, his family and his community mean so much more to me. They are family. They are yet another one of my communities, same as Saint Croix Falls and same as UWS.”

While in Uganda, the group spent time learning about the musical culture of Uganda. This included learning about different instruments such as the ground xylophone, the Akogo, or thumb piano, the Adungu, an African harp, the Riki Rik, which is a fiddle, and drums.

“What made these experiences even more special was the fact that we were able to learn about all these different instruments in the villages and communities where they originated,” said Seth Gudmunsen. “It was amazing to see how the different tribes used different rhythmic patterns, scales and chord progressions throughout the trip.”

As part of the exchange, the American contingency shared music which included an American Spiritual, European religious chorales, and North American folk tunes.

“This visit has given me and the UWS music professors more perspective on music education and understanding,” said Seth Gudmunsen. “One of the statements that I took away from the trip is ‘music is human.’ This to me will forever change the way I teach and how I look at music learning.”

In October, Okello Kello Sam will be bringing his drum troupe, the Mizizi ensemble, to America, which will include visits to UW-Superior, UW-River Falls and a state music conference in Madison. The Pamoja Project team is continuing to work with leaders at the American University level and in Uganda to make exchanges like this possible.

“Constant learning is key for any type of education, but learning about different cultures, their musical experiences and philosophies is something that will progress educators and learners alike,” said Seth Gudmunsen.