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Famoudou Konate
From Hand to Hand Tour 2008
June 20, 21 & 22, 2008

Presented by:
Heart to Heart Cooperative in collaboration with
Living Rhythms Community Drumming School

Limited Space! Register in Advance!

This is a unique opportunity to study with one of only a handful of initiated Masters of the Malinké drumming tradition. Winston-Salem is the only Southeast stop on the 2008 Hand to Hand Tour and classes will fill up quickly! Space is limited to 45 participants per workshop. As classes near capacity, priority will be given to those registering for all three days of workshops.

The Wassa Kunba!* Experience.
(*Malinké for “Great Joy”)

Famoudou’s Wassa Kunba! teaching system involves an intensive four hours of instruction per day and ensures that you will leave with everything you will need to study and perform a complete Malinké rhythm. You will learn the melody of the rhythms on the three dunun and the accompanying djembe parts. Famoudou will also teach echauffements (patterns which “heat up” the rhythms), djembe solo techniques, introductions and breaks, dunun variations and songs (vocals) that accompany the rhythms in the village. You will learn the origins of each rhythm, receive expert instruction on all instruments in the traditional Malinké djembe orchestra and deepen your understanding of the place of music dance and song in West African life. Famoudou’s passion for the music infuses every workshop. Everyone benefits from hands on personal contact with Famoudou throughout each workshop. Finally, each workshop includes a set aside time during which Famoudou will demonstrate all of the drum parts so that students can take home a clean audio recording of the material.

Workshop Schedule:

Workshops will be held at Saint Anne's Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem. Please note that due to the length of these workshops there will be a 30-minute break in the middle of each workshop.
Friday June 20, 5:30-10:00 PM
Saturday June 21, 2:00-6:30 PM
Sunday June 22, 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Costs:
Workshops cost $80.00 per day and $240.00 for all three days, if registration is postmarked by March 31. After March 31, workshops are $100.00 per day, or at the discount price of $270.00 for all three days. Youth registration is $70.00 per workshop or $210.00 for all three days.

*All workshops will be open to all skill levels. Famoudou is a master teacher who can work simultaneously with students at all levels from beginner to professional. He will assign parts to students according to their ability, so that everyone can get the most out of each workshop.

How to Register:

Click here for a registration form.
NOTE: Pre-registration form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Don’t have it?? Get it here!

Mail your registration form with your payment to:
Heart to Heart Cooperative
3147 Luther Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27127

Make checks payable to Heart to Heart Cooperative. We will send you a confirmation e-mail upon receipt of your registration.

Workshop questions/more information:

For more information or questions concerning workshops, e-mail us at heart2heart@livingrhythms.com or call (336)774-0732 -- ask for Steve Nalley .

Directions:

Click here for directions to workshop location
NOTE: Directions document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Don’t have it?? Get it here!

ABOUT FAMOUDOU KONATE:

Famoudou Konaté is a world-renowned virtuoso of the djembe drum and its orchestra. One of only a handful of initiated Masters of the Malinké drumming tradition, Famoudou is universally respected as one of the world’s premiere djembe Drum Masters. He has dedicated his life to performing and preserving the music of his people, helping to elevate the djembe orchestra from its traditional roots to worldwide popularity. Famoudou was born in 1940 near Sangbaralla, a village in the Hamana region of Upper Guinea, the Malinké heartland and the birthplace of the Dunun family of rhythms. A percussive prodigy, he was drumming in community festivals at the age of eight and was soon in demand as a djembefola across the region. From 1959 to 1985, Famoudou was the Lead Djembe Soloist for Les Ballets Africains de la République de Guinée, touring the world and performing with astounding virtuosity. During this time, Famoudou himself created many of the musical arrangements now common in West African performance groups worldwide. Since 1986, he has taught and performed annually throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, North America and West Africa, instilling a generation of non-African drummers with an extraordinary level of training. In 1996 he received an honorary professorship in Didactics of African Musical Practice from University of the Arts Berlin. He has produced 7 CDs, including his most recent release, Hamana Mandenkono.

ABOUT HEART TO HEART:

Heart to Heart Cooperative is a group comprised of students of the djembe. All members of Heart to Heart are students at Living Rhythms Community Drumming School studying with Bill Scheidt, certified Tam Tam Mandingue professor and founder of Living Rhythms.
 

Supported in part by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, and the North Carolina Arts Council.

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