Description
Musicians For Musicians MFM Presents “Music Is Essential” ZOOM Webinar #13 with Kora Musician David Gilden and Special Guest
Sherif Sissoko – A Musical Introduction to the Mandinka Kora
Date: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Time: 5pm to 6:30pm (ET)
Venue: ZOOM
Ticket: Free for MFM Members; $5 for non-members
Webinar description
In this presentation David Gilden will go into detail about the Mandinka Kora from a musician’s perspective (performing pieces of Kora music) and share his experiences traveling in West Africa to study the Kora. His guest Sherif Sissoko a skilled Kora player will also play some music and provide additional background on the history and origin of the Kora.
About David Gilden
https://www.facebook.com/koraDave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjQJ1nn63Oc&t=2s)
David discovered the Kora back in 1978 at a concert with Malian kora player Batourou Sekou Kouyaté at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It was this performance that inspired David to play and research the kora.
In1989 David traveled to The Gambia to study the Kora with his first teachers Malamini Jobarteh and Dembo Konte. Later in1995 David traveled to Bamako to visit Kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate and Batourou Sekou Kouyaté.
During this trip to Bamako, David met Sherif who is the younger brother of acclaimed kora musician Ballake Sissoko. Today Sherif lives in Hartford Connecticut where he continues to play the Kora.
About MFM
MFM seeks to bring together musicians from all disciplines, styles, traditions and localities in the cause of their mutual self-betterment. Whether through education, networking or political action, MFM’s ultimate goal is to elevate the work of all musicians to the level of a true profession, one which is recognized and appropriately rewarded by the society in which they live and work. MFM additionally advocates for the creation and maintenance of a fair and sustainable musical ecosystem, one in which participants share equitably in all forms of revenue generated by their work product, whether composed, recorded, or performed live. In the final analysis, we seek to promote all conditions which benefit the musicians’ community and the music created by it, while opposing all those which do them harm.”