Discover the Ancient Lyrical Music of the Kora

Sean Gaskell will give a performance and educational demonstration on the West African kora, an ancient 21-stringed harp from West Africa at the Lake Travis Community Library on February 17th from from 3-4pm.  He will feature traditional songs that are the heart and soul of the kora’s musical repertoire in addition to some of his own personal compositions.  The concert is free and all ages are welcome!

The Kora is native to the Mande peoples who live within the countries of Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau. The music is traditionally played by oral and musical historians known as Griots (Gree-ohs). The Kora is a melodic and seemingly peaceful instrument, which is somewhat contrary to its musical repertoire. Many songs tell ancient stories of war and hardship, while others praise people of high political status and those who helped expand the Mande Empire. While the Kora is only 300 years old, some commonly played songs can be traced back 800 years to the Mande empires’ founding. Gaskell has studied extensively under the instruction of Malamini Jobarteh and Moriba Kuyateh of Brikama, The Gambia, and Kane Mathis of Brooklyn, NY. Gaskell has been featured at numerous festivals in the US, Gambia, and Senegal.

For a preview, check out this video of Sean performing.