News

On 31 October 2019, the first Network Conference of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence will come to a festive close with a unique concert in a unique setting. Five internationally renowned musicians will perform bringing together their traditional instruments for a fusion of styles from classical music to Jazz at Bayreuth’s UNESCO World Heritage site: the Margravial Opera House.

When the discussions of the first network conference of the Cluster of Excellence will have come to an end, the guests of the conference will have the opportunity to enjoy a cultural event of a special kind. On the evening of the second conference day, they are invited to attend a concert that features five renowned musicians. The Baroque stage of the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth – named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2012 – will be the unique venue for this once in a lifetime event.

Matchume Zango

One of the musicians performing is Zango “Matchume” Cândido Salomão Zango, who has dedicated himself to Mozambican traditional music. His family’s roots lie in Zavala, in the heart of the country’s timbila tradition, a city in the Inhambane Province. From the age of six, Matchume felt inspired by this long and passionate legacy of music and percussion, and began to play and study the traditional instruments and compositions. He is a virtuoso on instruments such as the mbira, the xitende and the djembe drums and is currently regarded as one of the best masters of the timbila, which is also World heritage instrument.

Childo Tomas

One of the concert’s highlight will be the performance of Childo Tomas. Tomas, a renowned bass player, has done a lot of research of traditional and popular music from different corners of Africa, particularly from Mozambique. Besides his individual work, he plays with the Cuban Jazz pianist Omar Sousa which shows the wide range of Tomas’ music styles. This knowledge and experience, along with his virtuosity on the bass has brought Childo critical acclaim. Besides the electric bass as lead instrument, Childo also plays the mbira, the xivocovoco and the xigovia.

Tao Ravao

Another outstanding artist performing at the concert is Tao Ravao. After leaving his native island of Madagascar at the age of twelve, Tao Ravao took up the mandolin, then the banjo, and finally the guitar. He worked all over Europe for seven years as a street musician. During this time, he met one of his biggest musical influences: Homesick James, the father of electric blues. When Ravao later returned to Madagascar he became fascinated by the island’s music and started to play traditional Malagasy tunes as part of a trio. He excels in kabosy and vahila.

JaeHyo Chang

Also rooted in traditional music is the percussionist and vocalist JaeHyo Chang. JaeHyo is one of the best percussionists in Korea and is uniquely capable of expressing rhythms by making use of tone and nuance, power and space. After starting his professional career as a member of the famous percussion group Puri, he began working as a solo artist in 2000. Later, he became the leading performer of the Sonagi Project and the Barame Soop playing the Janggu. Today, Chang always strives to create original expressions using traditional Korean percussion instruments.

EunKyung Kim

The only woman in this team for the event on the 31^st, is EunKyung Kim.  She is a renowned virtuoso playing the gayageum – the Korean zither -, and the yanggeum – a dulcimer – both traditional Korean musical instruments. While her performance is based on the Korean artistic traditions, she combines various genres such as classical, fusion Korean, and other popular tunes that she regularly performs solo or working with numerous ensemble teams.

If you would like to attend this unique event, please register: africamultiple-international@uni-bayreuth.de (sg)