Blog Archives

Mi’kmaltic: Morgan Toney, Fiddle

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Join us for a performance by Canadian Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney offering music he calls “Mi’kmaltic” (Mi’kmaq + Celtic). Enjoy this great event in the outstanding acoustics of the historic Union Church. Admission is by donation, and students are free – support live music in our community!

This concert will be offered live in person, and online.

Morgan will be visiting Maple Avenue School as part of his Upper Valley Residency in partnership with BarnArts.

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Music’s an almost alchemical force to Canadian Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney. From the first time he really heard music, sitting on the floor of his uncle’s house transfixed by a DVD of Phil Collins, to 2022 where he’s one of the most in-demand young fiddlers and singers in Atlantic Canada, was nominated for three East Coast Canadian Music Awards, and his debut album, First Flight, is being reissued by Indigenous record label Ishkode Records. In just a short amount of time, Toney’s been able to invigorate both the Atlantic music communities and Mi’kmaq communities by bringing together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq, one song dating back up to 500 years. He calls this fusion Mi’kmaltic (Mi’kmaq + Celtic) and it’s his way of celebrating his language and heritage. He’s honoring the elders who’ve taught him the songs and the language, and he’s taking his place on the front lines of Eastern Canada’s cultural divide.

Mamadou Diabate and Percussion Mania

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Join us for a special salon-style concert with virtuoso balafon artist Mamadou Diabate and Percussion Mania.

Last we we visited Nigeria, and now we move Northwest to Burkina Faso Africa. Join us for a special salon-style concert with virtuoso balafon artist Mamadou Diabate and Percussion Mania. This is a rare opportunity to hear world-class music in an intimate setting, or to join us in viewing online. Following the ocncert there will be an opportunity for questions and to see the instruments up close. Seating with be in the Union Hall. Space is limited and we recommend you reserve your spot online in advance. All tickets purchased for this event will help to support the Claremont Creative Center project.

MAMADOU DIABATE’S

PERCUSSION MANIA

Mamadou Diabate: he brings the sun of West Africa on stage! Colorful as the atmosphere on a market place somewhere in West Africa, is the music of Mamadou Diabate and Percussion Mania. Kanuya – the name of the latest CD – means friendship, respect and appreciation.

You can hear and feel all this with the musicians on stage. Virtuosic balafonmusic, supported by powerful African rhythms and refined by African chants. A complete scene in which the body can´t sit still anymore…. See for yourself!

The master of the Balafon Mamadou Diabate lives and works in Vienna. He composes, sings and plays the balafon as well as various percussion instruments. His concert tours take him to many contries and prestigious festivals. After 12 CDs and countless concerts he has become an indispensable part of the world music scene. “He brings the sun of West Africa to our concert stage! In this few words you can rewrite the emotion and energy in Mamadou’s music. “

Nigerian Music and Folk Stories with Gerald Eze

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Enjoy Nigerian folk stories and music in this fun pop-up event with the visiting artist. This event will be held in the hall at Union Church, space is limited so registration is suggested. Online viewing is also availble. You’ll have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of this fantastic visting artist.

This event is by donation and helps to support music for both WCCMA and Gerland’s Ichoku Academy in Nigeria. Tickets available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/west-claremont-center-for-music-and-the-arts-10648461080

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Gerald Eze is a rising global musician from the Igbo land (Southeastern Nigeria) which is often referred to as the land of the rising sun. Eze, is a phenomenal Ogbu-Oja (master performer of the Oja), multi-instrumentalist, and a Nigerian First-Class graduate of music from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, where he also works as a lecturer and researcher. He is renowned for his excellent understanding of Igbo traditional music especially in theorizing, teaching, and performing Oja (air blown wooden instrument of the Igbo) and Ubo-aka (an Igbo lamellaphone) within Nigeria, and globally.

With over 10 years of studies under veteran performers in various Igbo communities, Eze brings new energy into the African music scene with a mastery of several near-extinct traditional Igbo musical instruments. Eze promotes traditional Igbo musical instruments by exploring them in novel textures and styles, thereby breaking the bounds of culture and instrumentation. Born into a musical ancestry of the Igbo which stopped after his grandfather, and rooted in the Igbo spirituality, Eze is a cultural ambassador, embodying the griot traditions of the Igbo, and engaging his audience with entertaining stories and deep philosophies in songs.

He founded Ichoku Academy, an academy of music that trains children and youths in Nigeria and in the diaspora on Igbo music, thereby creating a system for the growth of Igbo-African music to progress effectively into the next generation.