John's Blog

Please go to:

 http://www.facebook.com/john.zeretzke

John Zeretzke on Facebook

I had so many problems with uploading to my BLOG here.  I found I could upload to FACEBOOK without with no trouble, so friend me if you like or just check out the comments, photos and clips I posted there on my account.  Thanks everyone!  It was a great and successful music mission!  JZ

It's that time that everything is hitting everyday.  Schedules, timetables, contacts in Haiti, prepping the flutes for the trip and getting everything ready to go.  We fly out on May 5th to Miami, then to PAP.

Here are the groups that have flutes going on this Haiti 2012 music mission and the groups that are sponsoring us on the ground in Haiti:

Normal 0 0 1 126 720 6 1 884 11.512 0 0 0

ON THE GROUND - USA

Ojai Music Festival

Topa Topa Elementary School, Ojai

Valley Oak Charter School, Ojai

Music Center of Los Angeles, Kepple Elementary School, Glendale

Carlsbad Girl Scouts, Carlsbad

Northern California Girl Scouts, Santa Rosa

Oakland Girl Scouts, Oakland

Unitarian Universalist Summer Retreat 2011, Camp de Benneville Pines

St. Vincent De Paul Summer Camp - Circle V Camp, Santa Maria

Unitarian Universalist Church, Ventura

Park Century School, Century City

2011 Pizzaz Summer Camp - United Methodist Church of Westlake Village

Conejo Elementary School Magnet Program, Thousand Oaks

ON THE GROUND - HAITI

Restavek Freedom Foundation, Joan Conn - Founder and Director

Changing Tides Orphanage, Vance Simms – Founder and President

Three Angels Children’s Relief, Eric Helgemo - President

St Vincent De Paul, Suzie David Pierre – Haiti Project Coordinator

Some pics from work in and around Teguchigalpa, the capital city of Honduras.

We visited a orphanage (Mother Theresa), hospitals, schools, inner-city educational programs for children and other sites.  A great and successful trip all the way around.  Approximately 600 flutes were given out and I conducted  many workshops in world music and flute instruction.

Sorry for the slow blogs, but the internet was down here in Teguchigalpa for a few days and uploading is not always that easy to do in a normal amount of time.

The photos start to tell the story without too many words getting in the way...

Our driver Regio who will brave the hwy to El Mariell

Our bus with medical supplies and beds for children.

On the road again...

Boys and father with new beds.

Girls with new flutes.

John with amigas in El Mariell

Regio and driver Bernardo with flutes for their children.

Everyone wants a flauta!!!

Here we go!  The flutes are all packed and many of the doctors and nurses have already flown out, but our Rotarian trip leader, Evie Greene and I are coming in after them.  I leave on a flight at about 1:00 AM this morning.    Loaded with flutes to give away, cameras to document, PVC-style Mayan 'bird call' flutes for children in Honduras to make.  I will be giving away some Sharpies along the way to children, also.   I am looking forward to returning to the good people of Honduras and a wonderful group of Rotarians helping others in need.

"Regardless, Bash On!"

Flutes Across The World is Off to Honduras in January!

Two girls in Honduras with their new flutes in 2010 music mission. 

Our next music mission is to Honduras and is leaving on January 26th through February 5th.  John Zeretzke of Flutes Across The World will be hosted by Tegucigalpa Rotary International and Westlake Village Rotary Sunrise.  After visiting villages, orphanages and hospitals in and around Tegucigalpa, ethnomusicologist Simeon Pillich will join the team to travel to the far northern coast of Honduras to meet with the Garifunas, the Creoles of the north,  who still preserve their music and dance traditions that have roots in African culture.

 Garifuna musicians on the north coast of Honduras 

 Our next music mission is being planned for Haiti with Joan and Ray Conn of the Restavek Freedom Organization who will be helping to host Flutes Across The World 

in April or May of 2012. 

More to come on this Haiti expedition...

Cindy and John Zeretzke with Anthony and cast members from Ulalena

Anthony shows us how to make a nose flute in less than one minute out of a can...

...then proceeds to play it beautifully!

We made so many new friends on Maui and Cindy and I would love to return

and work with the children of the islands again someday.  Aloha!

Traditional Hawaiian nose flutes kick off the flutes program at Kalama School

Student picks out a flute for keeps

Smiles and flutes go together!

My new Amigo, Hawaiian traditional flute master, Anthony Natividad

Music for the students at Pomaika'i Elementary School on Maui

Wow!  That was cool!

Da boys hanging loose

We started with a Saturday all-day workshop for teachers at the Maui Art and Cultural Center.  It looks like play, but the teachers are learning to make simple one-note flutes they can make with their students back in the classroom.

We all learn by doing...

A demonstration a few ancient flutes and wind instruments for the students of Hana Elementary School in Hana kicks off the Flutes Across The World program for children.

Which flute shall I pick?

"I can do this".

Hey!  This is serious business here!  Stop that smiling!

International hand symbol meaning 'cool flute, Uncle'.

Hana flutes!!!  Teachers Beth and Grant Senner said that for weeks you could hear all over Hana the sounds of flutes being played.

Driving off into the sunset on the eastern, more remote side of Maui...which we loved, but we had to get back to Kihei for more work on the 'other side'.

The Rotary Club of Tecuchigalpa honored all of us at their club meeting and dinner.


John received two flags from the Teguchigalpa Rotary to take to Ojai's two Rotary clubs.  From Left to Right: past rotary president Ricardo Flores Bermudez, John's host General Fidel Velasquez Murillo, myself, trip leader Evie Greene of Westlake Village Sunrise Rotary and Rotary President Rolando Machado.



John Zeretzke received a great honor when Director Nelia Pineda of the Republica de Honduras La Escuela Nacional de Musica presented him with a honorary diploma from the music conservatory.   Right to Left:  unknown, Director Nelia Chavarria de Pineda, John Zeretzke, Kate Russell of Art Trek of Ventura County.

Principal and Staff members getting flutes at the American School in Teguchigalpa.


On our way up the mountains to visit Sandy (formerly Peace Corp)
at her casa where over 75 children will be coming for art and music classes.


Which flutes should I choose?




Art and music kids!

On the road - about 2 hours from Tegucigalpa.

Driving through a typical village in Honduras.

Rotaract youth helpers with the flutes program - wonderful, dedicated youth!

Kids from the Orphanage with their new flutes.

Another smiling face that deserves our attention and care.

Just too cute!!!

Mother and daughter inside a typical home in El Marillal

The boys arrived early the next day to take a flute class and learn to play a tune.



One of my best new students who could not get enough flute lessons from me.
These kids want to learn....



In the school classroom with a new flute.

A child gets the gift of music by a student from Ojai, California.

The children of El Marillal loved getting their new flutes and were playing them all over the village.  Even though the kids are well dressed and were very clean, everything is covered with dust in this hot area of rural Honduras.

Too tired to write much, so the photos will have to tell part of the story so far.  Our team flew into Tegucigalpa on Thursday and went right to San Felipe Hospital to visit the children before their foot surgeries begin on Friday.  Flutes started to be hand delivered to smiling young faces at the hospital.  Today was a drive through the mountains to El Marillal, a very small village in a remote part of Honduras that Rotary Westlake Village Sunrise has adopted for the past years to assist in educational, medical and humanitarian aid.  Over 175 flutes made it into the hands of these kids.  Tomorrow I will conduct classes in playing the flutes.  Over and out!  JZ

A Rural View on the way to El Marillal.

On happy boy!

Another young flute player...

John with new amigo Cesar, our wonderful and generous bus driver.

My Last Days in the Philippines

We arrived back in Manila on the 25^th and everyone was tired.  The doctors flew back, but I had a few more days here meeting some VIP’s, visiting a orphanage, seeing a few sites with Ramon and Donna, including a trip to visit the local volcano and lake and the old city of Taal.  I was especially drawn to the church in Taal that was built in 1575 by the Spanish.  It seemed to have a very magical and peaceful feeling within it’s stone and mortar and I was very much captivated by the building and spirit of the place.

Old City of Taal 

My last night in the Philippines included a guest spot playing electric violin with a top band here in Manila at the Hard Rock Café.  The band was by far was one of the best cover bands I have heard playing the Beatles.  They seemed to make every song they played their own and were the nicest musicians to let me sit in with them.  We rocked the house right off the bat with a little ‘Night Train’ duet with band leader John Lesaca and myself both on electric violins.  John is a well-known musician and celebrity in Manila.  He wants me to record with the band next time I am in the Philippines.

With John Lesaca - dueling electric violins, Live at the Hard Rock, Makati! 

 The next day, Ramon gathered our team back together, including Wayne who came down from Angeles to visit His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Cardinal of Manila.  I was asked to play for the Cardinal, so I played Amazing Grace in Appalachian modal style along with my song 'Salaam Alaykum', which the Bishop enjoyed very much.  He was a very gentle and kind man and it was a honor to be able to share my music with him.

Commander Ramon Moreno, John Zeretzke, Cardinal Rosales, Wayne Johnson and Sir Edward Artis.

Two days prior, at a ceremonial dinner engagement, I was awarded the highest medal of honor by the White Helmets of the United Nations by Commander and now friend Ramon Moreno.  Sir Ed Artis and Ambassador Fredrick Tanner of Geneva also received awards at the honorary dinner.  It was a great honor to be bestowed with such an award at this time in my life. 

This mission to southern Mindanao was a success and I have made many new friends along the way.  The Filipino people are gracious, kind, loving, strong, compassionate and industrious.   It has been a wonderful gift to be able to be part of this experience.

I am tired and I am ready to go home...to be with my loved ones and family.  I will sleep well and soundly on the flight home, thankful for all that I have in my life and the opportunity to do this work.  We share what we have to offer to those in need in the world today.

I  am sure I will have more opportunities to come back to this wonderful country again. 

Day Six

Flutes to Basilan

Ed’s quick idea to get military protection so we can go to Basilan, Isabela City, present the flutes program there at a public school and also check out the local community hospital became a reality when we got the thumbs up the night before with the General and his troop support.  Our peaceful mission of flutes and cultural exchange can only occur if our team is able to be protected coming and going.  Now our security was set with a handshake and going fast and light was the way to go.

 The ferryboat to Basilan left at 7:00 am.  It could hold about 200 or more passengers, no cars.  The morning was warm, very humid and stifling at times.  Even though the waters at the docks are an amazingly azure blue and crystal, everyone tosses their food wrappers, trash and garbage overboard.  In so many countries people do this.  In older times, most of what a village created as waste was biodegradable.  Now it’s Styrofoam and plastic.  Doctor Joe and I comment on this, but we both know this kind of an internal change in a society comes slowly and has to be taught.  It’s a lesson coming, in time, to such a beautiful place and wonderful people. 

Wayne, Ramon, the Major, Doc, John and Ed.

The Ferry over. 

Basilan or ‘Iron Trail’ is home to the Yakans, the ancient tribe that inhabited the island.  The Yakan people are also known for their colorful and skilled weavings, but its jungles and forests has been home to the Abu Sayyaf since the 1970’s. 

Upon on arrival at the docks on Basilan, Isabella City, we were all on alert.  About 60 troops were there for our arrival and quickly we were driven, quite fast, to the Philippine Marine base some kilometers through town and down the road in convoy formation.

Coming into docks at Isabela City, Basilan. 

Convoy Philippine-style with the 1st Division through Isabel City, Basilan. 

Meeting the General ‘Rusty’ Guerrero at the base was a delight and since Sir Ed had never met this General before, they went through the normal exchanges and greetings.  They both seemed to click right off the bat.  Rusty was a quiet man - steady, kind and easy, yet had a sharp eye and careful manner about him.  After a short visit about our intentions of being on Basilan, we convoyed to the governors mansion to meet the Vice Governor of the Province, all under the eye of many, many military personnel, staff and pomp and circumstance that goes with such a meeting.

After a quick speech by Ed at the Peace and Reconciliation Conference we happened to stumble in on, we were soon off again, Knightbridge-style to the school where we were going to present the flutes to students in a selected class.  The feeling in contrast to the city, the ferry dock, the community was such a welcomed relief.  As I stepped out of our van to meet the Principal and view the school, the tropical air was electric with anticipation of our arrival.  Children’s voices laughed and broke the oppressive feeling of guns and security that seemed to seep into most of our discussions around me.  They were simply put, just children.  I was a teacher of music from halfway around the world to visit them.  This was a moment that my students in Ojai, California spent months preparing for and myself, personally, thousands of miles of travel to achieve.  Schools, children and arts education is what I know.  This was my turf now.  My feeling of confidence took hold as I greeted the Principal and we started to walk towards the classroom and talk.  Our ‘protection’ was setting up around the school and behind me, but I was more focused on a wonderful two hour exchange with these great kids.   

Child and Soldier at school. 

Just like 'cool kids' anywhere in the world! 

 They were all beaming at me as I was setting up.  I have rarely met such a polite group as the children in Jolo, Zamboanga and here on Basilin.  They usually addressed me as “John Sir” or “Sir John” and always with a sweet tone of respect and brightness.  Smiles were everywhere, especially when I explained how the flutes were made and told them about their ‘flute buddies’ in the United States.  As we were having the kids pick out the flute they wanted and then get their picture taken with the principal and myself, I asked her what she thought of the program and the exchange taking place.  She tried to speak, but kept choking up with tears.  She said she could hardly put into words what this meant to all of them – students, teachers and herself, personally.   These people have not prospered under the oppression that surrounds them.  Fear creates it’s own weather like a firestorm burning hot in a canyon.  When a breath of fresh air of hope arrives, people feel and remember what freedom is all about.  In reality, I know very little of what has taken place for these people, but I do know what has taken place right here, right now.  We were all feeling it, from marine and bodyguards to children and teachers.  It was a rare moment that brought hope into the hearts of everyone present.

We were whisked away in our convoy after a short time with the staff and Rotary International members to have lunch with the General back on the Marine base.

It was pleasant in the Filipino style dining area in the jungle compound and the base was very clean, orderly and quite beautiful in the forest surroundings.  After lunch, we all walked down to the Marine’s boat dock at the water’s edge.  The General made arrangements to take us back to Zamboanga with some of this men instead of going back to the ferry landing, a wise and safe decision for us all.

 The General’s fast boat to Zamboanga skipped over the waves and in no time we were sitting having a few beers at the palapa style huts on the beach at the Naval Base just north of Zamboanga.  The sun was lower in the bright sky and the palms swayed in the humid breeze.   Later that evening, we had a nice dinner in the warm night air by the sea in Zambo.  The Doctor and I spoke of philosophy, others discussed new projects, we laughed, smiled, I played the fiddle and we all were thankful for our opportunity to be there together at this time in this small part of the world.  Kind acts of humanity, one step at a time.  It’s the kind of happiness that we were all seeking, traveling down our own individual paths and coming all together upon this occasion.

Wayne and Sir Edward - on our way back to Zamboanga.  Flute and hospital mission accomplished! 

Day Five

From Jolo to Zamboanga

Now that the Doctors from Operation Smile and our mission were in full swing and really in rhythm, knocking out 6-7 operations for cleft palette a day, Ed, Ramon, Wayne and myself found ourselves hanging out in the two damp jungle cafes on the base run by local Jolo merchants.  We could not go outside the wire.   I was amazed at the work that these doctors performed.   It was hard to imagine they could perform such miracles on children with such severe problems.  The transformations were beautiful…and to be able to give back these children a wonderful smile, with dignity.   Many of these kids were branded with a deformity that hid them from their own people, that hid their own smile under a continual and shameful awareness of their appearance to others, knowing they might never be accepted.  When I made some of the girls giggle and laugh in the children’s ward / post-op, they would always hid there mouths from view.

Our military escort to the airport was provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and our flight left in the morning, flying back to Zamboanga.

Edwin, a tall, energetic representitive and head of the Zamboanga International Rotary, welcomed us to Zamboanga.  We convoved to a elementary school not far from the hotel we were staying in.  The school sat in a very beautiful canyon, covered with palms, jungle trees of all varieties and thick folage.  The children at the school were joyful, full of innocent smiles and were very happy.  The classroom and teacher I visited were wonderful and loved the flutes I had brought them.  The students really got the idea of a gift that comes from the heart from American students.  They, in return, gave me flutes to take back to America. 

 We were off to the orphanage through the busy streets of Zamboanga after lunch.  Ed has personally helped to fund this facility with many children who were abandoned or abused here in Zamboanga.  Many will not visit here or more dangerous places like Jolo, Sulu Province.

Ed and Ramon made a phone call and by 7:00 pm we were having dinner with the General Ben Dolorfino of the Philippine Army province.  Things were being put in motion for the next day.  Ed was trying to get us security to do a quick trip to the highly sensitive area of Basilan, Isabella City.  The  General was just the ticket and help we need to get Flutes Across The World to a very difficult area of the world, to have a ‘high impact’ in a community that has been deprived for years due to conflict, but we are not going without full protection from all the support we could get.

Wayne with our military escort only 1 kilometers to the commercial airport terminal.

Making friends everywhere we go...

A view of Jolo from air.

Bangka powering over the blue seas off the coast of Jolo. 

New gifts from Ojai, California...to Zamboanga.

 Public school in Zamboanga we visited with Flutes Across The World.

 Special kids at the orphanage in Zamboanga.

 Part of our Knightbridge team in Zamboanga with kids.