Doors at 7:30 pm; Show 8:00 pm
Tickets are $15 Advance / $20.00
Tickets for both shows (April 19th & 21st) also available.
$30 Advance / $40 Day of Show
On April 19, 2018, the first of two concerts of ancestral Zimbabwean music will feature traditional mbira music: drumming, marimba, dance and choral music. Audiences will enjoy the transformative sound of mbira music as it was played over one thousand years ago in traditional ceremonies in Zimbabwe.
The KTO Project is collaborating with Bay Area musicians and dancers from Zimbabwe to celebrate the music of the people - Chimurenga music - and to explore its roots in traditional mbira music played by the ancestral Shona people in Zimbabwe.
The KTO Project will bring more than 15 musicians and dancers and a community choir of up to 25 people together to perform one concert of ancestral songs of Zimbabwe, then one concert of the popular, socially impactful music developed from the ancestral forms generations later.
A second concert, on April 21, 2018, will feature Zimbabwean mbira music played with modern amplified instrumentation and drum kit, with lyrics characterized by social and political commentary. The performance will feature arrangements and song by Kelly Takunda Orphan and Zivanai Masango.
Both concerts will feature Voices of Zimbabwe, the community chorus led by Kelly Takunda Orphan, developed in residence at Ashkenaz (that will run from February to April 2018). Members of the Zimbabwean, Southern African and World Music choral communities have a chance to participate in this choral project that will be featured at the Mafaro eZimbabwe: Zimbabwean Mbira Music for the People concerts.
