Arts Sulzer composes musical for fifth grade class
BYMARYLANCASTER INDEPENDENTWRITER
Combining a history lesson with the joy of song and performance, Nantucket New School fifth grade teacher Jim Sulzer has written an original musical called "When Worlds Collide" that his class will present as part of their study of the Spanish and Inca cultures.

ROBBENCHLEY/The Independent Spaniard invaders Cole Millington (left) and Carter Kuhl (right) take Sapa, the Inca leader, hostage. Played by Leon Lefebvre.

"I tried to write the music sort of in the idioms of the Spanish and Inca music. I'm trying to teach as I entertain," said Sulzer, who also teaches seventh grade English and the lower school chorus. "It's like a teaching musical but it's also supposed to be fun and a good performance to watch. The educational value is in trying to experience the emotions of the cultures through song and live it in a way [they] can't by just reading. It imbeds information because the kids are learning the production."

Sulzer, himself a musician and singer, said it took him from last November to late January to complete the musical's eight songs and musical score. The 13 children who will perform have been rehearsing for about six weeks. All the students take part in the show's chorus and most of them have solos. The majority of songs are accompanied by guitar, though one student plays a flute during a song about gold and silver.

Sulzer explained that the class has been studying the Age of Exploration and he felt the story of how the Spanish and Inca people met in 1532 lent itself to a dramatic presentation. That meeting took place in Cajamarca, Peru between the Sapa Inca, or Inca leader, and Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Though Pizarro proclaimed he came in peace, he ordered his army to attack the Inca. In two hours 6,000 Inca were killed with no casualties for the Spanish. Pizarro agreed to spare the Sapa Inca's life, after which the Inca leader asked to be set free in exchange for huge amounts of gold and silver. The Sapa Inca kept his promise, however Pizarro killed him anyway.

Sulzer said the musical is about those events but also includes information about the two cultures, such as the Incas'superior stone work and their quipu, a series of strings tied in knots to maintain records of crops, statistics, personal belongings and everything else in their empire. The Inca did not know how to write. Both cultures were advanced but in different ways, said Sulzer, explaining that while the Spanish had never seen corn or potatoes, the Inca had never seen horses before they met.

"To act it out is to learn from a whole different perspective," said Sulzer, estimating the musical will last 45 minutes and adding that all the costumes are being made by parents. "It's structured so they are acting and then break into song as in traditional musicals. The process is more important than the performance, but I expect the performance

will be wonderful." I