THE TALKING DRUM
Country: Togo
Africa has a musical consciousness, a musical tradition and a musical civilisation. African music is nothing but the sonic reflection of African tradition. In Africa, the drums speak, and the human body sings. Drums occupy a large part of the musical and socio-cultural expression of the entire continent while constituting its very soul. This session will provide demonstrations and practices on the songs, rhythms and dances of various regions of Africa, which will allow participants to experience and share this inalienable joy that African music brings.
Sylvain Kwami Gameti, former Artistic Director of the Choir of the University of Lomé from 1996 to 2003, conductor of the National Choir of Togo since 2009 and outgoing conductor of African Youth Choir, is a member of the Board of the African Confederation of Choral Music (CAMC) and the Choral Movement A Coeur Joy International (ACJI). He is also President of the Togolese Association of Composers of Choral Music (ATCMC), former President of the Association of Music Teachers of Togo (APMT), former Music Officer of the Togolese Federation of Choral Music, and Director of the Institute of Choral Music of Lomé in Togo where he teaches choir conducting and African music.
For the past 10 years Gameti has conducted choirs and organised choral festivals in nearly 32 towns in Togo. In his tutoring career he has run workshops on choral direction and harmonisation of traditional African songs.
Sylvain has toured choirs through France, Spain, South Korea and Germany, and participated in choral festivals in several African, European and Asian countries. A published author on Togolese and African music, Gameti is Professor of Choral Practice at the University of Lomé and has composed more than 200 works.