Bruce Tambling Diversity Statement

January 30, 2007 - Foothill College Application Document

Multiculturalism, ethnic diversity and equality encompass the unifying spirit of humanity as well as the politics of difference. The ability to recognize, respect, understand and embrace these aspects as inherent elements of the human condition serves as a measurement of one’s character. I uphold these beliefs to be true unequivocally in both my personal and professional life, and have learned that diversity enriches and enhances our lives, infusing our minds, bodies and spirits with purpose and compassion.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was surrounded and profoundly influenced by a very diverse neighborhood. Our family values reinforced inclusion and acceptance of all people. My mother used to say that the fingers on our hands are like the different religions in the world, all leading to the same God. One Easter when I was about 8 years old, my mother proceeded to make an omelet after we had dyed dozens of eggs different colors. She said, “Look at all the different colors of the eggs. Aren’t they beautiful? They are like the different colors of people’s skin.” Then she cracked open the eggs and said, “But inside they are all the same.”

On the surface, this story may appear to be merely a childish analogy, but the fact of the matter is underneath the appearance of our differences (i.e., race, creed, color, religion, gender, physical and mental ability), we are all the same. We are more alike than different—one people with the same basic needs and hearts. I am very glad that I grew up in a family in which racism, prejudice and intolerance were unfathomable.

My ignorance of these social ills is something that I attribute greatly to my mother’s positive and good-natured guidance. She believed a rainbow is a universal symbol representative of the bright and beautiful union of all people. She lived her life by example according to this fundamental principle and taught us to do the same. Her value system affected me profoundly and molded my character, conduct and world view into and throughout adulthood—to be open-minded, accepting and tolerant of all people. My mother died of breast cancer in 1981, but her life and death became the motivation for me to study holistic medicine.

As a professional producer and composer, one of my areas of expertise is World Music, and I integrate a diverse range of influences into my work and productions. I am a member of the Society of Ethnomusicology and have studied classical Indian music, Flamenco guitar and with master drummers from Brazil, Cuba, Korea, Africa, Peru and Egypt. From 1990 to 1991, I played in the Balinese Gamelan Orchestra under the direction of ethnomusicologist Dr. Lou Harrison at San Jose State University.

New Age Music Review wrote this about one of my works in 1993, “The album ‘Spirit Rising,’ composed and produced by Bruce Tambling, is a multidimensional musical journey that incorporates sacred music from around the world and embraces all cultures and time periods on the Planet Earth.”

Traveling is one of my primary passions because I want to experience as much of the world as I possibly can. I have traveled to Germany, France, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bali, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Russia, Poland and throughout much of the United States. In spring 2006, I was granted a three-week leave of absence from my teaching duties at Foothill College so I could teach music technology in Hanoi to a group of audio engineers in the Vietnamese Government’s Cinema Department. I also have taught English at schools and monasteries in India, the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand.

In addition, I am a dedicated student of comparative religions and have studied Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic traditions. I have studied Yoga in India as well as Buddhism and Taoism in Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese temples and monasteries.

Working as a professional recording engineer, I have credits on records with artists of various sexual orientations, cultures and religions. I have produced reggae albums for Jamaican Rastafarians; music for Chinese opera singers, Tuvin throat chanters, Tibetan monks; and worked with artists from Africa, Brazil, Cuba, Japan, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, Greece and Asia. All these experiences were positive and enriching opportunities to develop or renew friendships in addition to furthering my own educational, cultural and spiritual growth.

In 2002, I engineered and produced a landmark recording project encouraging cultural diversity. The song, “Let Us Be United,” was a fundraiser for the families and children who lost loved ones in the infamous September 11 plane crashes. It features a choir consisting of more than 100 singers, young and old, from 20 different countries. On the recording, each country is represented by a singer who says “Let Us Be United!” in his or her native tongue.

Future Rhythm LLC, a school for audio and video arts that I founded in 2002, had a very diverse student population. The school’s student body was a mix of professional recording engineers; music hobbyists; DJs; university professors; and high school, college and international students from all parts of the world including Canada, Japan, India, South Africa, Germany, Sweden, France, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Greece and Bolivia.

At Future Rhythm, I also taught many students requiring job rehabilitation skills as part of their Workman Compensation benefits, many of whom were disabled from severe brain or back injuries. Some were in such intense pain that they were unable to concentrate in class. Frequently, I met with students during my private time to help them catch up on assignments or overcome difficult subject matter and techniques to complete the course. I understood then, as I do now, that people learn at different paces and according to different teaching methodologies and styles. My job as a teacher is to be prepared to reach and teach each student who has the motivation and aptitude to learn. When students lack the focus to learn, then it is my responsibility to inspire them to do so.

Foothill College’s population is very diverse. The same class may consist of some students who have Ph.D.s, some who are still in high school living with their parents and others who are successful multi-million dollar CEOs. We teach students from all over the world. Many of my most enthusiastic, talented and dedicated students at Foothill are international students with visas. We have talented professional musicians with master’s degrees in composition sitting next to absolute neophytes who have yet to learn the difference between the white and black keys on a piano.

Some of the students are absolutely brilliant; some have learning disabilities and are challenged to follow the simplest directions. Regardless, I love the diversity at Foothill College. I love teaching “newbies” as well as veterans. I am quite capable of teaching classes simultaneously at different levels of complexity so there is something for each student to learn on all levels.

Currently in the music technology field, every sound, every instrument, from every country is literally at the fingertips of today’s musicians. Innovative technology gives students access to an unprecedented palette of rich and interesting sounds. Furthermore, the intersection of music and technology gives students the ability to create beautiful music together in the music technology computer lab and via the Internet, and provides them access to a global village for sharing and collaboration.

Cultural diversity continues to have a strong impact on the musical landscape and presents new thinking in teaching approaches. I am a teacher who is interested in discovering how cultural diversity, ethnicity and pluralism can affect and enrich our students’ lives as we create new paradigms for education and cultural interaction through music and technology.