Master Birifor xylophonist Tijan Dowana will be making his first appearance in the United States in a concert with the West Virginia University African Music and Dance Ensemble, Friday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Creative Arts Center.

The event will be held in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre and is under the direction of Michael Vercelli, director of the WVU World Music Center.

According to Vercelli, the ensemble’s spring concert will feature musical selections from West Africa, including repertoire from Guinea and Ghana, Afro-beat from Nigeria and an Afro-Brazilian piece featuring the WVU Brazilian Ensemble.

Tijan Dorwana, originally from the village of Saru in Ghana, is a recognized master musician of the Birifor people. His instrument, known as a gyil, is a xylophone constructed of dried rosewood, antelope hide, and dried gourd resonators, and can be heard in the Northern and Upper West regions of Ghana. Dorwana has performed in Germany, Luxemburg and France and is also active at ritual and recreational events throughout Ghana. As an educator for more than 20 years, he has taught Birifor music at the University of Ghana – Legon, and currently teaches at the Dagara Music Center, located in Medie, Ghana. Through his continued cultural advocacy, Dorwana has disseminated his Birifor oral tradition to his students around the globe, including students in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan.

The African Music and Dance Ensemble is an experiential ensemble, focusing its repertoire on the traditional and contemporary music of Africa and the Diaspora. The music is taught primarily through oral tradition, allowing the members to experience the learning process without written music.

The ensemble is comprised of both undergraduates and graduate students from many disciplines across the WVU campus.

Vercelli said that while the focus of the African Music and Dance Ensemble is musical, the cultural contexts relevant to the music studied are inherently stressed, giving the participants a deeper understanding of its meaning and personal enjoyment of the music performed.

“The goals of the African Music and Dance Ensemble include fostering a growing community interested in the African arts, while focusing on an expanding body of musical repertoire to encouraging the oral tradition process to take place between new and returning members,” he said. “Members are encouraged to use personal experiences from past years and abroad in shaping our performance practice.”

For tickets and information, call the WVU Box Office at (304) 293-SHOW.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4841 ext. 3108, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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