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Amadou Kouyate
Born in the Washington, DC, Amadou Kouyate is the 150th generation of the Kouyate lineage and has studied and performed Manding music since the age of three years old. Amadou is a dynamic djembe and koutiro drummer. He also plays the 21-string kora, which he learned first with his father, Djimo Kouyate and other master griots of West Africa. He has performed with Mamaya African Jazz and the African American Dance Ensemble. Currently, Amadou performs as a solo artist and as a member of Farafina Kan, the Wato Sita Project/World Music Ensemble, the Manding Griot Ensemble, the Kouyate Family, Urban Afrikan, Memory of African Culture Performing Company, Dono Percussion Ensemble and the Hueman Prophets. His credits include performances at The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, Lowell, East-Lansing and Dayton National Folk Festivals, DanceAfrica DC and Chicago as well as with The National Symphony Orchestra, Images of Cultural Artistry Performing Company, the production "Soul Possessed," directed by Debbie Allen and in Sweet Honey in The Rock’s premiere performance of “INDABA,” with the WPAS Men and Women of the Gospel. His musical talents have earned him many accolades that include artists-in-residence awards from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities grant award, a Special Talents Scholarship at Howard University, and a Musical Theatre scholarship at the Levine School of the Arts. Amadou has studied in Mali and Senegal, West Africa with master musicians of the Diali tradition including Toumani Diabate. Currently, Amadou Kouyate is an Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland School of Music and attends Howard University.
Musician/Performing Artist:
Wato Sita Project/World Music Ensemble, 2004
- Present
African American Dance Ensemble, Chuck Davis - Artistic Dir., 2003 - present
Farafina Kan, 2002- present
Memory of African Culture Inc., 1985 - Present
Dono Percussion Ensemble, 1996 ? Present
Manding Griot Ensemble, 1998 ? Present
Spoken Word/Hip Hop Artist: Hue-man Prophets, 1996 - Present
Actor/Theater Artist: TASA - Teens Against the Spread of AIDS; 1999 ? 2000
Other Major Production Credits:
?Oedipus? Shakespeare Theater, Washington, DC ? recorded for musical score, August 2001
"Timbuktu" Howard University Department of Theatre Arts, 2001
"The Washington Christmas Revels" December 1998
"Spirit of Kwanzaa" Dance Institute of Washington, December 2000
"Soul Possessed" produced by Debbie Allen for the Kennedy Center, 1999
The National Symphony Orchestra, directed by Hannibal, Kennedy Center,1997
Adjunct Lecturer/Drum Instructor, Asst. Drum Instructor, Guest Instructor
University of Maryland Ethnomusicology African Drum Ensemble Class, 1998-present
Sunrise Academy, 2002-2003<.li>
Children and Youth Investment Corporation @ Perry School, 2001
Summer Education Arts Sports Program ? DC TANF/DC Public Schools, 2001
Howard University - Dance Major Program/Dialiya-Kora Project, 2001
Assistant to Mahiri Keita for Kono Youth Ensemble classes, 1998-99
"As in the traditional context of 'Fasiya,' that which is passed through the generations, I am a Djali. Often synonymous to the French word griot, a storyteller, I have inherited a duty far beyond the comprehension of any story. As the 150th generation of the Kouyate clan, it is my responsibility to preserve the history of the Manding peoples and civilizations, and hand this knowledge down to my children. Unlike any generation before me, I am the first generation born on American soil, and therefore must preserve the knowledge of my mother?s clan, who have sewn their roots into this nation since their being stripped from the arms of our motherland many centuries ago? As my heart beats to the rhythm of my ancestors, I recognize Fasiya as a part of myself. Creative expression is the vessel through which I can effectively excel in the pursuit of my interest, and properly fulfill my traditional responsibility on a broader level. In preserving the tradition, I devise new concepts of relaying ancient information into contemporary appeal, in hopes that one day my name shall be lauded for ages to come. Peace & Blessings"
-Amadou E. Kouyate
For additional information, telephone/fax: MAC, Inc. at
202/726-1400 or write to: MAC, Inc. P.O. Box 50042,
Washington, D.C. 20091;
or email akuakouyate@memoryofafricanculture.org
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