Blair.edu Website Review

On January 10 and 11, internationally recognized balafon player Balla Kouyate and his band World Vision will visit Blair Academy to offer a once-in-a-lifetime performance to the Blair community. They will share their unique sound at Chapel on January 10 and in the Chiang Center for Innovation and Collaboration on the evening on January 11. World Vision includes five instruments in addition to the balafon: a kora, djembe, electric bas*, electric guitar and drum set. The group resides in Providence, Mas*achusetts, and tours the country full-time performing and teaching master clas*es. World Vision is coming to Blair courtesy of the Rev. Lisa Durkee, chaplain and chairman of the religion and philosophy department. Mr. Kouyate and Ms. Durkee met five years ago at a benefit concert for refugees at her church in Mas*achusetts. “Meeting Balla was a life-changing moment,” Ms. Durkee said. “To see a historic art form in action is one thing, but the pas*ion that Balla brings to his music is something I knew needed to come to the Blair community. ” In addition to the performances, World Vision will lead workshops with Blair’s instrumental music clas*es. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and discover more about the balafon and its history. The balafon is a kind of xylophone or percussion instrument which plays melodic tunes, and usually has between 16 and 27 keys. At the January 11 performance in the Chiang Center, attendees will have the chance to learn traditional dances to World Vision’s music. Nicknamed “Balafon Mania,” Balla Kouyate is considered to be among the greatest balafon players in the world today. Playing the instrument is a family tradition pas*ed down over 800 years, and Mr. Kouyate’s family is in possession of the oldest balafon in the world. The art of the balafon dates back to the medieval times.  He began to play the balafon at the age of 6 and did his first show in Bamako, Mali, at the Palais de la Culture with Malian singer Sanignai Kouyate. In 1994, he became a member of the National Percussion of