Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)

Saturday

 

 Interview with Raffi

By Richard Duckett

  

WORCESTER — They're Raffi graduates.

 

Or alternatively, "I refer to them affectionately as 'Beluga Grads,' " said Raffi, the popular Canadian singer/songwriter and family entertainer, as well as author and educator. That's to say, the millions of children who have listened to Raffi from the mid-1970s on (including his famous "Baby Beluga" song), many of whom are now parents with children of their own who are enjoying Raffi's songs.

 

Parents and children are known to sing along together at his shows. "They are so enthusiastic and they sing louder than their kids do," Raffi said of the Beluga Grads during

 

a telephone interview last week. "And we have a grand old time."

 

Raffi will be at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts for two shows at 1 and 4 p.m. June 1.

 

But even though they've graduated, Raffi has some homework in mind for the adults after the grand old time is over, including a new online course in "Child Honouring" offered by the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring (Canadian/British spelling). He's also released an album for grownups, "Motivational Songs," as a companion to the online course with 22 songs on various themes of peace, diversity, social justice, civic engagement and sustainability.

 

At 70, "I'm very much aware now of my legacy," Raffi said. "I speak of my online work now as my legacy work. I would be thrilled if my fans would consider taking my online course."

 

As defined online, "Child Honouring is a vision and philosophy that calls for a profound societal shift economically, culturally and ecologically. It’s about putting the needs of society’s most vulnerable members first — redesigning for the greatest good."

 

Along with that, Raffi (who as might be expected has an amiable but also a young-sounding voice) has a new children's album, "Dog on the Floor," nominated for a Juno, Canada's music award.

 

Raffii Cavoukian was born in Egypt to parents of Armenian heritage and moved with them to Canada when he was a boy. He got his education as a performer for children quite by chance. Drawn to music from an early age, Raffi's initial professional appearances had been as a folk singer in the Toronto coffeehouse circuit. In an earlier interview he recalled he was young, struggling and married in 1974 when the woman who was then his wife asked Raffi if he would sing to children at a nursery school run by her mother. He hadn't grown up with the nursery songs his prospective audience likely wanted to hear and so tried to learn some of them. Perhaps because his approach to the songs was self-taught and unfettered by the standard renderings, the engagement was a success.

 

"I just sensed that we were having fun," Raffi said last week. He was asked to return.

 

Encouraged but still on a shoestring budget, he recorded an album "Singable Songs for the Very Young" in 1976. A mix of traditional favorites and original compositions, it was "instantly popular. It opened up a whole career," Raffi said.

 

Many albums and tours would follow. In 1995 Raffi brought the "Banana Fun Tour" to the Worcester Memorial Auditorium with a selection of tunes that were described as "playful and hum-able."

 

Some performers regard children as a tough audience who can tell when they're being spoken down to.

 

"There's no need to speak down to them when you understand how intelligent they are," Raffi said. "The whole thing is to know your audience and care and show that you're caring."

 

Because of his own belief that children should not be exposed to too much television and not be directly marketed to, Raffi has rejected all offers for commercial TV shows and commercial endorsements. When approached by Hollywood to do a film based on "Baby Beluga," he declined the offer when he learned that the film’s marketing would include direct advertising.

 

"All along, I've been a children's advocate. The music all along has been honoring children. All along, respect has been a core value," he said.

 

With music influences that include the late environmentalist/singer/songwriter Pete Seeger, Raffi has also long been an advocate on environmental issues (he received the United Nations Earth Achievement Award in 1992). "Baby Beluga," released in 1980, is both a beloved lullaby and a tribute to an endangered white whale.

 

"The global issues we face are interconnected," Raffi said. "Climate crisis is not just one issue. I like to say child-friendly equals Earth-friendly. If you're serious about the well-being of children, you've got to tend to the mother planet. That's why child honoring offers a philosophy that connects the dots for people."

 

"Child Honouring" literally came to Raffi in a vision in 1997.

 

"It was nothing less than a vision that woke me up. I call it a luminous moment. I spent the next two years coming to know what I knew in that moment."

 

In 1999 he wrote a “Covenant for Honouring Children.” Evoking the U.S. Declaration of Independence, it begins, "We find these joys to be self-evident … "

 

The nine “Principles of Child Honouring” are respectful love, diversity, caring community, conscious parenting, emotional intelligence, nonviolence, safe environments, sustainability and ethical commerce.

 

The "Child Honouring" course, designed by Raffi and educator and illustrator Kristin Wiens, takes people through the "Covenant" and "Principles" in 10 multimedia modules that include videos, interactive activities, guests and Raffi’s insights and music. The course costs $125. To enroll, visit raffifoundation.org.

 

"We're getting some great early feedback," Raffi said. One educator wrote to him that the course is " 'a beautiful and profound offering.' "

 

He would like to see the course become something that's mandatory. "It would be wonderful. I think that's what we need in this day and age."

 

Asked if children have changed in the 45 years since he first sang to them, Raffi replied, "What's really changed is the world they live in. Young children, their needs are universal. That becomes a little more complicated in the digital age. As parents and adults it's important to give children at the beginning of life a connection with nature. We need to make sure that in their formative years they get their foremost needs met. Learn the rhythms of a slow, carefree summer."

 

A slow, carefree summer sounds good at any age.

 

"Remember them?" Raffi said.

Raffi

When: 1 and 4 p.m. June 1

Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

How much: $37.50 and $47.50; $84.50 meet-and-greet. (877) 571-7469; www.thehanovertheatre.org