Bringing the Music Back to Battered New Orleans
To bring back the city's musical score, the ecumenical Christian organization Habitat for Humanity announced its plans to build a 'Musician's Village' in the Crescent City.
More than three months after Hurricane Katrina, cleanup crews continue to keep themselves busy each day as the U.S. Gulf Coast states remain under piles of leftovers and debris. Yet the crews still have a long way to go before the seemingly endless amounts of trash are removed and the streets of the storm affected states are back to normal.
Amid the endless heaps, thousands of New Orleans evacuees are living in hotels with no place to go. The deadline for the victims to find housing through other aid has been extended from Jan. 7 to Feb. 7. Until then, the government will pay for hotel housing.
Among those still homeless are the musicians of the city where jazz was birthed. To bring back the city's musical score, the ecumenical Christian organization Habitat for Humanity announced its plans to build a "Musician's Village" in the Crescent City.
Hundreds of homes have been delivered from across the states to be built in the storm ravaged regions for the displaced families as part of Habitat's Operation Home Delivery. Now meeting the needs of the displaced musicians, the Musician's Village will be constructed for the education and development of homeowners and others in the local community. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named after the modern jazz pioneer and native New Orleanian. The center will be dedicated to the celebration of the music of New Orleans and will include performance rooms and classrooms.
Along with the homes, churches and businesses shut down from the damage of the hurricanes, many venues for music are also a part of that mix.
"Music is as much a part of the fabric of life in New Orleans as the cuisine, the culture," said Marsalis, the award-winning saxophonist, according to Habitat. "Katrina and Rita scattered musicians across the country, and shuttered many clubs and concert venues across the city."
As the city recovers, music will also be a part of the rebirth of the area.
"We believe this will help breathe life into an historic New Orleans neighborhood suitable to the re-migration of our valuable musician families," said Jim Pate, executive director of the board of directors for the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity affiliate.
Funding will come from the "From the Big Apple To The Big Easy" benefit concerts, which were held at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in September. Additional funding will also come from proceeds raised through albums that were recorded during the devastated time - "Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now" and "Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast."
"This plan, this village, will help restore New Orleans’ musical heritage, and protect it for the next generation that will follow," said Marsalis.
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1983, is an autonomous Louisiana non-profit corporation that serves the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. John the Baptist. In its 22-year history, NOAHH has built over 100 Habitat homes, including 50 in the past five years.
