On April 6, Chinese pipa player Gao Hong will join Kadialy Kouyaté, a Senegalese kora artist, and Venezuelan harpist Leonard Jacome for a string performance connecting musical styles from across Asia, Africa, and South America. The ensemble’s collection of new and improvised works explores the exchange of culture, stories, and musical traditions through the expression of strings. The trio will play live composition based on each other’s folk songs or modes to allow the audience experience the innovative/live composition process of turning traditional music into one-of-a-kind fusion music.
Join the artists beforehand at 4:15pm in the same location on their collaboration and the history and techniques of their instruments.
❖ March 6, Workshop: 4:15-5:15 pm, Concert: 7:00-8:30 pm | Goodrich
Gao Hong began her professional music career at age 12. As a performer, Gao Hong studied with pipa master Lin Shicheng at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including First Prize in the Hebei Professional Young Music Performers Competition and the prestigious Bush Artist Fellowship. In 2019, she became the only musician in any genre to win five McKnight Artist Fellowships for Performing Musicians. Gao Hong’s performances have spanned across Europe, Australia, Argentina, Hong Kong, Japan, China, and the United States.
Kadialy Kouyaté is a musician, a singer-songwriter inspired by the West African Griot repertoire. Kouyaté has performed as a soloist and in ensembles in many prestigious venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, the 02 Arena, the National Theatre, the Royal Albert Hall and Clarence House. Since his arrival in the UK, Kadialy has played a significant part in enriching the London musical scene with his griot legacy. In December 2022, Gao Hong and Kadialy Kouyate’s new album, House of Friendship, was awarded two gold medals from the Global Music Awards in the Instrumental and Duo categories.
Leonard Jacome, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer, is one of Venezuela’s most prolific and accomplished harpists. He has numerous awards representing Venezuela abroad and has toured and performed throughout Latin America, Europe and Japan. Leonard was also the head of the harp department at “El Sistema”. Since he created the Venezuelan harp chair, he has taught over thirty young harpists.