Derek Gripper

Friday, November 4, 2016 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall

$28 general public; $26 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students

There will be a pre-concert talk at 7:15pm by Banning Eyre '79 of "Afropop Worldwide."

"His playing has a depthless beauty...a staggering achievement on solo guitar."
--Songlines

South African musician Derek Gripper conjures anew a centuries-old musical heritage, interpreting kora (21 string harp) compositions for solo classical guitar. He has created a repertoire of arrangements of African music, based on transcriptions of works by Toumani Diabaté, Ali Farka Touré, and others. Other influences on Mr. Gripper include the multiple layers in the music of Oliver Messiaen, the African-influenced structures of Steve Reich, and guitar arrangements of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Following his New England debut at Wesleyan, he will perform at both Carnegie Hall and on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series.

Click here to view photos from this event on Flickr.