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Amadou Kouyate
www.myspace.com/mandingo_proper
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. Amadou has dedicated his life to the task of become an ambassador of African culture to the world. The catalyst for such a responsibility is the passion he has for reconnecting those of the African Diasporas to one another. 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 Proper SKANKS, Farafina Kan, ,the Manding Griot Ensemble, the Kouyate Family, Urban AfriKan, Memory of African Culture Performing Company and Dono Percussion Ensemble. 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. Mr. Kouyate has also worked in collaboration to create an original symphony called "The Hera Suite" which brought together a fusion of the western symphonic orchestra and the Djembe orchestra. This original work utilized over fifty musicians and artists from University of Maryland and Montgomery College of Rockville. 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, Guinea and Senegal, West Africa with master musicians of the Diali tradition including Toumani Diabate. Currently, Amadou Kouyate is an artist in residency at Montgomery College of Rockville, Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University Of Maryland School Of Music, and attends Coppin State University.
Musician/Performing Artist: African Instrumental Music - Kora, Djembe, Koutiro and pre-production
Proper SKANKS – 2008 to present, Lead Artist
Farafina Kan, 2002- present
Memory of African Culture Inc., 1985 - present
Urban AfriKan, 2003 – present, Founder
Manding Griot Ensemble, 1998 – present
Wato Sita Ensemble Project with Fred Johnson and Pepe Gonzalez, 2004
African American Dance Ensemble, Chuck Davis - Artistic Director, 2003 - 2004
Spoken Word/Hip Hop Artist: Hue-man Prophets, 1996 - 2002
Actor/Theater Artist: TASA - Teens Against the Spread of AIDS; 1999 – 2000
Other Major Production Credits:
"Hera Suite" original compositions and arrangements for University of Maryland and Montgomery College symphonic and djembe orchestras, 2008
"Indaba" Sweet Honey In the Rock w/ WPAS Mass Choir- November 2006
"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 2000,2003,2004,2005, 2006,
"Soul Possessed" produced by Debbie Allen for the Kennedy Center, 1999
The National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center, directed by Hannibal 1997
Adjunct Lecturer/Drum Instructor, Asst. Drum Instructor, Guest Instructor
University of Maryland Ethnomusicology African Drum Ensemble Class, 1998-present
Montgomery College World Music Ensemble ,2005-present
Summer Education Arts Sports Program – DC TANF/DC Public Schools, 2001
Music Accompanist for Dance Classes
Towson University, African Dance, 2008 to present
Howard University, Guest Instructor: Dianne McIntyre 2008, 2007
DC Youth Ensemble, Summer 2008
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 50045,
Washington, D.C. 20091;
or email akuakouyate@memoryofafricanculture.org
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