Amadou Kouyate to Perform at W&M
Amadou Kouyate: Manding Griot, singer, performer of Kora (21 string harp-lute) and djembe and koutiro drummer, will be performing and addressing W&M students during his visit (October 14-15th, 2009) at the following places/times:
- Wednesday Morning 10/14/09 10:00-10:50am Ewell 107 (Ewell Recital Hall)
Performance in Ewell Recital Hall for Prof. Phillips’: Intro to Africana Studies and Prof. Rasmussen’s: Words of Music
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
- Wednesday Evening, 10/14/09 6:30-8:30pm
Ewell 207 (Band/Orch Rehearsal Room)
Open Workshop: African music (drumming) and dance.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
- Thursday, October 15, 2009 9:30-10:50, Ewell 151
Lecture/Demo on Manding music traditions for Prof. Anne Rasmussen's Worlds of Music class.
- Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:00am-12:00pm, Ewell 154
Lecture/Demo/Q&A for Prof. Gayle Murchison’s class: Black Popular Music and Civil Rights.
Amadou Kouyate
Born in the Washington, DC, Amadou Kouyate is the 150th generation of the Kouyate lineage and has studied and performed Manding music since the age of three years old. Amadou is a dynamic djembe and koutiro drummer. He also plays the 21-string kora, which he learned first with his father, Djimo Kouyate and other master griots of West Africa. He has performed with Mamaya African Jazz and the African American Dance Ensemble. Currently, Amadou performs as a solo artist and leads Urban Afrikan; he continues performing as a member of the Manding Griot Ensemble, the Kouyate Family, Farafina Kan, Memory of African Culture Performing Company, Dono Percussion Ensemble and the Hueman Prophets. His credits include performances at The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, Lowell, East-Lansing and Dayton National Folk Festivals, DanceAfrica DC and Chicago as well as with The National Symphony Orchestra, Images of Cultural Artistry Performing Company and the production "Soul Possessed," directed by Debbie Allen. In 2000, Amadou studied in Mali, West Africa with master musician Toumani Diabate. Currently, Amadou Kouyate is an Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland School of Music and attends Howard University.
All events open to the public.
(sponsored by the Department of Music, the Program in Africana Studies and the Office of the College of Arts and Sciences)
for information: contact Anne Rasmussen (akrasm@wm.edu) Gayle Murchison (gmmurc@wm.edu) or Kim Phillips (klphil@wm.edu)
