• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Eastwick Press Info
  • Contact Us

The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

  • Community Calendar
  • School News
  • Sports Outdoors
  • Obituaries
  • Letters & Comments
  • Church Directory

International Musician Sean Gaskell To Play West African Kora At New Lebanon Library

March 31, 2016 By eastwickpress

Internationally renowned musician Sean Gaskell will perform at the New Lebanon Library on Friday, April 8 at 6:30 pm. The program, which is free and open to the public, will feature works for the Kora, an ancient 21-stringed harp from West Africa.  [private]

Sean Gaskell. Photo Courtesy of New Lebanon Library.
Sean Gaskell. Photo Courtesy of New Lebanon Library.

Gaskell will perform traditional songs that are the heart and soul of the Kora’s musical repertoire in addition to some of his own personal compositions. The Library is at 550 State Route 20 in New Lebanon
The Kora is native to the Mande peoples who live within the countries of Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau. The music is generally played by oral and musical historians known as Griots (Gree-ohs). It is a melodic and seemingly peaceful instrument, which is somewhat contrary to its musical repertoire. Many songs tell ancient stories of war and hardship, while others praise people of high political status and those who helped expand the Mande empire. While the Kora is only 300 years old, some songs can be traced back 800 years to the Mande empires’ founding.
Sean Gaskell has studied extensively under the instruction of Malamini Jobarteh and Moriba Kuyateh of Brikama, The Gambia, and Kane Mathis of Brooklyn, NY. He relocated from Olympia, WA to Asheville, North Carolina in 2014. Gaskell has been featured at numerous festivals in the US, Gambia and Senegal.[/private]

Filed Under: Front Page, Local News, New Lebanon

Primary Sidebar

    News Categories

    Archives

        Footer

        Local News

        Brunswick Town Board Highlights

        by Denise Wright The March 13th Brunswick Town Board meeting was filled with conversation and resulted in the passing of two resolutions. During the Building and Codes report, 25 building property inspections and 22 follow-up complaints were reported for the month of February. The State Uniform Code Administration Compliance Report has been prepared. The historian […]

        March 21st, 2025 Edition

        View this week’s entire newspaper: You must be logged in to view this article.

        Stephentown Board Highlights

        by Denise Wright The Stephentown Board’s St. Patrick’s Day meeting began with a moment of silence to honor former town board member Gerry Robinson. Robinson focused on “improving local service opportunities, protecting Stephentown’s unique rural environment, and increasing local jobs and amenities by encouraging economic development appropriate to the size, atmosphere, and well-being of our […]

        School News

        Berlin School Board Appoints New Superintendent

        Submitted by BCSD Communications The Berlin Central School District Board of Education selected Mr. Kenneth Rizzo to be its next superintendent of schools, effective July 1st. Mr. Rizzo was unanimously appointed by the board at its meeting on March 6th. You must be logged in to view this article.

        Wildcats Compete at the New York State Indoor Track Championships 

        Hoosick Falls CSD Indoor Track Submitted by HFCSD Communications The Wildcats put forth a great effort at the New York State Indoor Track Championships on March 8th. The girls 4×400, consisting of Emma Waugh, Mihaly Blake, Ava Salvsevold, and Erin Conety, had a huge upset in their race. Going in as the underdogs, the girls […]

        Winter Scholar Athletes and Varsity Teams

        Brunswick CSD Submitted by Brunswick CSD Communications Brunswick CSD is proud to announce its winter Scholar Athlete sports teams for the 2024-2025 season. The school fielded seven varsity teams, including Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball, Boys Wrestling, Competitive Cheerleading, Unified Bowling, Boys Indoor Track, and Girls Indoor Track. In addition to the exciting lineup of winter […]

        Copyright © Eastwick Press · All Rights Reserved · Site by Brainspiral Technologies