Term Papers on Hal Aqua

Term Paper Title	Hal Aqua
# of Words	1381
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.52

Hal Aqua

     Hal Aqua grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania.  Being one of the only Jewish kids around, he was not really exposed to his own culture.  Although his parents were both Jewish, he was unable to immerse himself in his religion.  At age sixteen, deriving inspiration from The Beatles, who had just released the Sgt. Peppers album, as well as some other rock and folk bands, he picked up the guitar and learned to strum a few chords.  Through the years, he learned to play from patient friends and from books.  Basically self taught, he became involved with several bands and played everything from folk rock to reggae.  Although he enjoyed playing with these bands, he always felt a bit out of place.  For example, in his reggae band which was a mixture of both white people and rastfarians, there was always a culture clash.  The band got along great and enjoyed playing together but after the show the rastas would do their own thing and Hal and his friends would do their own thing.  It seemed like there was always a cultural barrier which prevented them from connecting on a certain level.  After playing a wide variety of world music, Hal discovered that what fascinated him the most was learning about his own culture and his own musical background.  What he discovered would change his life forever.
     In the mid 1980’s, Hal became involved in a Jewish congregation called The Reconstructionists.  The Reconstructionists is basically a Jewish organization which practices Judaism but does not follow many of the strict rules of Orthodox Jews.  He shared many of the same views as the Reconstructionists and felt very much a part of this organization.  The only thing he did not care for was the music that they played.  To him, much of the music was bland and uninteresting.  He describes it as being folky, usually consisting of a guitar and vocals. Most of the songs were in English and just did not sound Jewish to him.  Although he did enjoy some of it, he thought it was rather dull, and could do with some spicing up. He told his wife of his dilemma.  He told her he really likes the services and the people at the congregation but the music “sucks.” His wife basically told him to put his money where his mouth is.  A short while later, the woman who taught music at the Sunday School took  a hiatus.  The Reconstructionists asked Hal if he would like to take over for a while and Hal was exited about the idea.  At the time he only knew a few Jewish songs and basically learned more as he went along.  He started looking around for Jewish music, bought CD’s and tapes, and found he really enjoyed it.  He discovered some very interesting musical possibilities through Jewish history.  He started listening to Middle Eastern music and Sephardic music which has traditional roots in Spain dating back to the middle ages.  The Sephardic Jews basically brought this culture with them to southeastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa when they were exiled by the Christians in 1492.  Hal found this music to be exiting, complex, and truly Jewish.  It was then that Hal realized this was His music.  He decided to pursue this type of music, claim it as his own, learn it, and teach it.  Hal’s destiny was truly realized.  As time went on, Hal became more involved in the Reconstuctionist’s musical program and started performing at events such as weddings, barmitzfas, and social occasions.  More recently, he has put together a Jewish folk band which performs fairly regularly.
     For Hal, music has never been a source of income.  He works here in Denver as a graphic designer and considers music to be “somewhere between a hobby and an obsession.”  I had an opportunity to sit in on a practice session at Hal’s studio. The band consists of six people;  a drummer who plays a hit-hat,...

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