Preserving her musical past, Sona Jobarteh innovates to support a more humanitarian future. The spirit of her musical work stands on the mighty shoulders of the West African griot tradition; she is a living archive of the Gambian people. Her singing and kora playing, while fronting her band, spring directly from this heritage. Sona Jobarteh has performed live to audiences from the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Symphony Space in New York to London’s Barbican, Cologne’s Philharmonie, and the Seine Musicale in Paris. Hailed as “mould-breaking” (Songlines Magazine), Sona Jobarteh is “a griot for a new generation” (BBC World Service).
photo credit: Rob O’Connor
In addition to the concert, Sona Jobarteh will join Cornell faculty members for a panel discussion about gender, culture, and development in Africa at 12:30PM on Friday, March 21 in Lincoln Hall B20. The discussion is free with no tickets required.
“Guaranteed to hold the attention of any audience… There’s no disputing she’s at the top of her trade.” – The Morning Star