Bernard Woma Trio

Saturday, October 11 @ 8PM

Admission: $10 (free with a 2008 Passport)

Ithaca..Crossing Borders LIVE, WVBR's multicultural radio concert series is pleased to feature the African Xylophone by 'gyil' master Bernard Woma, presenting the Bernard Woma Trio in concert on Saturday, October 11th at 8pm at the Lost Log Lounge, 106 S. Cayuga Street. The two- hour simultaneous broadcast can be heard on WVBR 93.5fm or online at wvbr.com and crossingborderslive.org. Admission for the live show is $10.00 or free to Crossing Borders Passport subscription holders.

The trio consists of Bernard Woma playing two versions of African gyil (Ghanaian xylophone), Nicole Baliey on djembe and ktanlogo, Sulley Imoro on vocals, with additional percussion by Griffin Braidy and surprise guests from the Ithaca community.

Bernard Woma is one of Ghana's foremost musicians, recognized around the world as an outstanding performer and teacher of Dagara xylophone music and other forms of traditional Ghanaian music. He works simultaneously in three continents, Europe, Africa, and North America. Woma is the founder and director of the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Accra, Ghana, which caters to International students interested in learning about African culture through music and art. Bernard Woma has been the ceremonial Atumpan Drummer for Ghanaian State functions; he performed for Bill Clinton and Jerry Rawlings, when the US President visited the Ghanaian president in Accra. In Europe, he lectures and performs at numerous universities throughout the year. Woma is also the artistic director of the award winning Saakumu Dance Troupe ('saakumu' means traditions), one of the leading contemporary/ traditional dance and music groups in Ghana, West Africa. Repertoire includes a range of spiritual, ceremonial, and recreational genres to contemporary African dance forms. The group actively combines performance with outreach and teaching.

In the United States, Woma is adjunct percussion professor at State University of New York at Fredonia and Director of the SUNY Fredonia African Drumming Ensemble, and travels extensively throughout the US to share Ghanaian music and culture with a dynamic hands-on program filled with music and lecture for students of all ages. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Avery Fisher, Lincoln Center and his composition, 'Gyil Nyog Me Na' was performed at Carnegie Hall in spring of 2006. He has headlined with the New York African Xylophone Festival, and appeared as performer and educator at universities across the country. He continues to serve as a cultural ambassador of his native Ghana.