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Spring Hill Musician Travels to Russia
By MELISSA WEBBCorrespondent
Theron Hatch, a Spring Hill resident, recently returned from Russia where he spent 10 days this fall touring with a group of professional jazz players from across the country. The group called themselves “Metro Big Band.” They came together through the Global Missions Project, an organization that brings together musicians and coordinates their travels around the world.
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Theron Hatch performs in Russia with the group “Metro Big Band.”
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Spring Hill resident Theron Hatch in Russia.
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While in Russia, Hatch and the Metro Big Band played more than ten concerts to more than 800 people all together. They played in jazz clubs, universities, civic halls and even more prominent places like an American culture center where many high level Russian ambassadors to the U.S. were in attendance. Metro Big Band played jazz music, a genre that is an American tradition. The swing and big band music reminiscent of Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong was a hit with the concert goers.
“Our Russian audiences really loved the music,” said Hatch. “They knew a lot of the songs. It was really neat to take part in that.”
The opportunity to share such a positive aspect of American culture with another country was something the group was very thankful for.
“From our experience, most of the people that live in Russia do not have an accurate frame of reference to understand Americans from,” said Hatch. “The main American television channels that they get are MTV and the Soap Opera network. It was really wonderful to be able to share a different aspect with them.”
Hatch reports that the misunderstanding of cultures works both ways.
“I think many Americans have an inaccurate impression of Russia as well,” he said. “This was my second time to visit the country. What I can say is that the people are really no different. The biggest difference is in our governments.”
Hatch also noticed the difference in what people take for granted in America, where he describes people as “always thinking about working to get more and more.”
“The American dream isn’t just to own a house, it’s to own a bigger and then a bigger house and have more things to fill it with,” said Hatch. “In Russia, it is not uncommon to see a family of four living in a small two room flat. The last thing on their mind is having a bigger house. They are just happy for what they have. They have no car; they walk or take the bus. You see people and they are really happy; they are content.”
Experiencing other cultures is what Hatch says makes traveling a vital experience.
“You really have to go somewhere so you can open your eyes,” he said. “Americans are misunderstood and it takes interacting with other cultures to change that.”
“Our primary mission on this trip was to share the message of God’s love,” Thatch continued. “In some of the places we performed, we couldn’t say that, so we had to let our light shine through our music.”
For more information about the Global Missions Project, visit the Web site: www.globalmisisonsproject.com.
Correspondent Melissa Webb can be reached at melw@charterinternet.com.
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