Okavango African Orchestra CD Release: Feb 27, 2016
Batuki Music Society is proud to present the Okavango African Orchestra CD release
concert at the Ada Slaight Hall, Daniel’s Spectrum on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at
9:00 PM.
Okavango African Orchestra – 12 instruments, 10 languages, 7 countries…one special concert.
Okavango African Orchestra features a cast of nine accomplished African-born
musicians who now live in Toronto and Montreal: Daniel Nebiat (krar, vocals-
Eritrea), Tichaona Maredza (marimba, nyunga-nyunga, hosho, vocals-Zimbabwe),
Donne Roberts (guitar, vocals-Madagascar), Kooshin (kaban, vocals-Somalia),
Ebenezer Agyekum (bass-Ghana), Sadio Sissokho (kora, tama, djembe, vocals-
Senegal), Nicolas Simbananiye (vocals-Burundi), Aron Nitunga (guitar, vocals-
Burundi) and Kofi Ackah (percussion-Ghana). The concert will also feature
dancer/choreographer Mabinty Sylla (Guinea).
The orchestra takes its name from the Okavango Delta, a basin in the Kalahari
Desert in Botswana, where many different animal species come together to feed and
find water. Predators and prey are forced to coexist and share the meager resources
because of the harsh environment around them. Similarly, Okavango: An African
Orchestra brings together the traditional music and instruments of several major
African cultures that historically have had little or no interaction. The musicians of
Okavango have created a common meeting place for these disparate cultures, and a
new musical language that harmonizes their different tuning systems, rhythms, and
timbres. The musicians and instruments of Okavango represent a continuum of
traditions and cultures from time immemorial to the present day. The multicultural
spirit of modern-day Canada bridges ancient African solitudes.
Over the autumn and winter, Okavango African Orchestra revisited the site of its
triumphant debut, the Canadian Broadcasting Centre where it conquered a full
house at Glenn Gould Studio the previous year during Black History month. Its
members, returning and new, hunkered down at CBC’s ‘Studio 211’ for the
recording of the group’s debut album of ten original songs due for release on
February 27th, 2016.
Okavango African Orchestra looks ahead on its continuing journey to an “Africa
without borders… before the borders were created”.
Tickets $15 advance / $20 door
Advance Tickets available at these locations:
Online: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/okavango-african-orchestra-cd-release-
concert-tickets-21287520547
African Drum & Art Craft, 618 Dundas St. W.
Soundscapes, 572 College St.
New Bilan Restaurant, 183 Dundas St. E.
For info: batukimusic@yahoo.com
www.batukimusic.com
Batuki Music Society gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for
the Arts, Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Arts Council. Thanks to CIUT 89.5FM
and Artscape for their support.
Batuki Music Society gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for
the Arts, Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Arts Council. Thanks to CIUT 89.5FM
and Artscape for their support.