Crossings: Malang Jobarteh, kora & Chelsea Randall, piano
$25 (student discounts available – contact organizer)
- Malang Jobarteh, kora
- Chelsea Randall, piano
Fred Onovwerosuoke — Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythm (excerpts)
Joshua Uzoigwe — Talking Drums ("I. Ukom")
Nkeiru Okoye — African Sketches ("II. Dusk")
Philip Glass — Metamorphosis
Note: This event has been rescheduled from 3/25/23.
Gambian kora virtuoso Malang Jobarteh and acclaimed pianist Chelsea Randall will join forces for an exciting collaboration exploring the intersections between African music and 20th- and 21st-century piano repertoire which draws inspiration from and incorporates elements of African rhythms and harmonies. The program will juxtapose traditional and new works for kora with piano pieces by György Ligeti, Nkeiru Okoye, Joshua Uzoigwe, and Fred Onovwerosuoke, and will feature the world premiere of a new composition for kora and piano written by Jobarteh and Randall. A festive reception will follow the concert.
Crossings is supported by New Music USA’s 2022-23 Creator Development Fund.
About Malang Jobarteh, kora
Hailing from a distinguished lineage of Gambia kora players, Malang Jobarteh carries on the tradition as a prolific kora performer and educator based in New York City. He has presented concerts at the Center for African Studies at Rutgers University, Wave Hill, Basilica Hudson, Longwood Arts Gallery, Northside Music Festival, Bronx Heritage Center, and many more. Jobarteh is a recording artist and has been featured on albums with Boubacar Diebate, Bela Fleck and Dialy Kounda, among others, and was awarded an Arts Fund grant from Bronx Council for the Arts. Jobarteh also serves in many cultural functions. As a Djeli he is personally responsible for maintaining an oral history of many generations before him, and he is called upon in countless social settings to bring people together, sometimes to resolve disputes, and other times to help leaders of the noble class make important decisions. His role is a complex one with many layers, with no direct parallel in American society.
https://www.groupmuse.com/musicians/6709-malang-jobartehAbout Chelsea Randall, piano
NY-based pianist Chelsea Randall is a multifaceted artist who seeks to create fresh dialogues between the old, new and undiscovered as a performer. Recent appearances include a series of livestream recitals featuring seldom heard works by Robert Palmer, supported in part by a grant from Live From our Living Rooms, and solo recitals in California, New York and the Tri State Area. As a soloist, Chelsea has concertized at venues from Weill Recital Hall and Alice Tully Hall to Clare College at Cambridge University, and is the recipient of research and performance grants from Conservatoire de Paris and McGill University among others. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of EXTENSITY, a concert series in NY which aims to promote underrepresented and new voices in music. Chelsea received her musical education from NYU, The Royal College of Music and Juilliard.
https://www.chelsearandall.com/