Vibrant rhythms and rhymes will resound in Seattle when Sankusem's African Music Festival comes to Seattle Pacific University, holding a concert at First Free Methodist Church on October 31, 2011 and at University of Washington's Meany Hall on November 1, 2011. Both concerts are at 7:30 pm.
The African Festival, produced by Sankusem, a New York based non-profit organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of African music written for classical instruments, debuted at Leavenworth, Washington's Icicle Creek Center for the Arts in June 2010 to rave reviews. This year it will perform concerts at Whitman College in Walla Walla and at Icicle Creek in Leavenworth before continuing on to make its Seattle debut as part of the Northwest tour.The African Festival concerts will bring an impressive roster of eminent International Artists including Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine, a sought after soloist world wide who frequently appears on the cover of Strings and other major classical magazines; Master drummer Obo Addy and his Okropong Drum & Dance Ensemble, UK/African soprano/conductor Margaret Ferguson, called "Africa's Lady of Song", who has performed operas, oratorios, spirituals, and jazz concerts throughout the UK, Europe, United States, and Africa; English cellist Sally Singer, on faculty at Whitman College and Artistic Director of Sankusem; pianists George Francois and Amy Rubin; violist Heather Bentley and violinist Jennifer Caine.Videos