Deree dance and music majors embarked on a Musical Journey of 2,500 Years with 34 students from Switzerland’s Franklin College, who visited Deree as part of their Academic Travel program in Greece.

The Franklin students spent an afternoon exploring the origins of Greek folk music and its links to ancient Greece thanks to the efforts of the Deree students who put the performance together at the Library upper level on October 13.

“To show the ancient traces of Greek folklore we had to start from the oldest preserved song written on papyrus, dating back to 500 BC,” said Professor Tatiana Papageorgiou, from the Deree Music Area and musical director of the event.

With their artistic abilities and the guidance of their professors, the Deree students breathed life into the choral from Euripides’s tragedy Orestis and the sacred Byzantine hymn, To the Supreme Fighter.

Greek folk music in its entire spectrum has unity and continuity. Through its history, language and ethnic character it connects the present to the past, Papageorgiou explained.

And so, after the performances of ancient and Byzantine music, the students from Franklin and Deree danced with their professors to the tunes of Zorbas and the passionate rembetiko of Tsitsanis.

“Folk songs and dances by composers and songwriters such as Theodorakis, Hadjidakis, Xarhakos, Tsitsanis and Giannides exemplify the importance of our heritage,” said Papageorgiou.

Franklin and Deree College came together for this event with the assistance of Academic Vice President Katerina Thomas, Ph.D., and Deree’s chancellor, Dr. John S. Bailey, who also serves on the Board of Trustees in Franklin College.

“I think it is really great when students organize events for other students; it’s authentic and brings them closer,” said Dr. Robert H. McCormick, the professor in charge of the group from Franklin College. “I know many people at Deree, and we feel very thankful for all the things they organized for us.”

Through their Academic Travel program, Franklin students can choose from 17 destinations in Asia, Africa and Europe. They travel for two weeks during each semester of their studies. The choice of country and its history link to the readings of a particular class, in this case, Introduction to Literature, Part I, Mc Cormick explained.

After their cultural experience at Deree, the group left for Crete to trek the Samaria Gorge and explore the palace of Knossos. During the two-week program, the Franklin students will also spend a couple of days in Chania and then tour Santorini, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Delphi, Olympia and Athens.

“The purpose of this program is to introduce students to the birthplace of Western culture, tracing the development of Greek civilization in Crete to the flowering of democracy in fifth-century Athens,” said McCormick. “Contemporary Greek culture, including modern Greek literature and politics, are also discussed with students and professors from Greek universities.”

The exchange of ideas and multicultural experiences is intended to relate both sides to one another and shape their understanding of the world.

McCormick said he was pleased that two Deree students expressed an interest in doing an internship at Franklin College. “I am interested in promoting Greek culture and bridging students from other countries with Franklin, so if I have a chance to, of course I’ll do it,” he said.