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: $5 for non MFM members

• Non-members register and pay here: https://musiciansformusicians.org/product/zoom-webinar-13/
• MFM members register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpfu6urj0tGNGU5RBKGD59mTSC3hjhqmz4

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 and 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.

In 1989 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.OM

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.