Students gain cultural exposure
Hands-on instruction from a master
Bolokada Conde teaches area students Afrikan percussion basics
In two days Bolokada Conde has provided more than 550 students ranging from college percussion students to physically and emotionally challenged elementary school students with the joy of traditional Malinke percussion as transmitted on by the jenbe and dunun drums.
Students of the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble, who have been playing traditional Malinke music for more than a decade, percussion students at IPFW, elementary school students at St. Joe Center Elementary, and students from Peace, and Oak Farm Montessori schools took classes with the Malinke drumming master in his first two days of the TRIAAC 9-day Visiting Artist Forum residency.
Bolokada speaks eloquently of the jenbe’s impact on his life, and how it factors into the lives of his people. From his mother’s forecast that he would be a jenbefola to his 7 years leading one of Afrika’s leading ballet companies, Bolokada Conde has demonstrated his expertise at transmitting traditional Malinke musical knowledge.
