Thursday, January 30
7:00 PM
Light Hall Center Theater
$20
Mamadou Diabate was born into a traditional musician family (Sambla people) in Burkina Faso (West Africa), with a long tradition of practicing the profession of story telling and music making. At the age of 5 he started his professional training with his father Penegue Diabate, who in his days was considered the best balafon player far beyond the borders of the Sambla culture (read more about the Diabates here). At 8 he began with his apprenticeship years with renowned balafonists of neighboring peoples. In 1988 and 1998 he won the first prize of the “National Culture Week” of Burkina Faso. He currently lives in Austria. With his group Percussion Mania he has won the Austrian World Music Award and the Grand Prix of the “Triangle du Balafon” Competition in Mali. For his virtuosity, he was also honored with the “Prix Alkaly Camara de la Virtuosité”.
Listen to Mamadou Diabate or visit his Website
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2024-25 Season Pass
Children 17 and under, WNMU students, faculty and staff admitted free with ticket