Valerie Naranjo and Barry Olsen

Come celebrate West African Music and Dance with Drummers and Dancers of Wofa in collaboration with Ghanaian gyil/kuar duo Valerie Naranjo and Barry Olsen! Wofa is the West African Drum and Dance Ensemble at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School directed by Alpha Kabisko Kaba. They will share the stage with Visiting Artist Valerie Naranjo of SNL and Barry Olsen of The Lion King.

Naranjo’s career has broken boundaries of genre and gender to help redefine the way percussionists engage with their communities. She has created a space for percussionists that is more inclusive to everyone, especially women. “She broke a gender barrier by being the first woman to perform on gyil (African marimba) and to become (with Barry) a first-place prize winner in Ghana’s Kobine Festival of Traditional Music,” says Dr. Patrick Roulet. "She has incorporated musical instruments and styles from around the world into pop, classical, rock, and folk traditions, which have influenced our entire field. "

"Her contributions to music and percussion are boundary breaking, crossing, and uniting,” says Dr. Roger Braun. “From the popular music of the Saturday Night Live band, to the New York musical theater scene, to the gyil music of Ghana, to her impact as a world music educator, her influence is profound.” Barry (trombone, piano, percussion) and Valerie (marimba, gyli, voice, percussion) have shared their artistry with renowned musicians like Philip Glass, Paul Simon and David Burne. You can catch them on rare occasions playing their own music in their group Mandara, their home for original compositions.

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