The Eastman School of Music will showcase two concerts this month in its popular World Music Series. Mamadou Diabate will perform music from the West African country of Mali on Friday, April 7 at 8 p.m. and the School’s own Gamelan Lila Muni will take the stage on Wednesday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Both concerts will take place in Kilbourn Hall.
A virtuoso on the twenty-one stringed kora, Mamadou Diabate has traveled the United States and Europe performing traditional music of the Manding people of Mali. Mamadou, known for his technical fluency on this harp-like instrument, is descended from a long line of musician-storytellers who use music and oratory to preserve stories that date back to the 13 th century.
After winning the respect and admiration of audiences in his home country, he moved to New York City in 1996 to continue his prolific performing and recording career. His latest CD, Behmanka, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2005. In his April 7 appearance at Eastman, Mamadou will be joined by a trio composed of balafon (another stringed instrument from Mali), string bass, and drums.
The School concludes its 2005-2006 World Music Series with a performance by the School’s own Gamelan Lila Muni (“orchestra of heavenly sound”), a traditional percussion orchestra of gongs, drums, metallophones, and flutes from the Indonesian island of Bali. The performance will showcase guest Indonesian dancer Ni Luh Kadek Kusuma Dewi and Visiting Associate Professor of Gamelan I Nyoman Suadin, as well as approximately 30 Eastman students and faculty. The concert will include a brief demonstration, giving the audience an opportunity to learn how the music of the gamelan is structured and performed.
Tickets for each concert range from $4 to $12, and are available at the RPO Box Office (108 East Avenue), by phone at 454-2100, online at www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts, or at Rochester-area Wegmans Home Video departments. Any unsold tickets will be available at the Eastman Theatre Box Office one hour before concert time.
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