Nonclassical and The African Concert Series are partnering for a two-day festival of live music and discussions, celebrating the diversity of musical styles from the African continent.

Gabriel Prokofiev has a long-standing interest in African music; he wrote my Bmus dissertation on Tanzanian music, he made field recordings for the British Library; and was even tour manager for Tanzanian master musician Hukwe Zawose (having learnt Swahili during my gap year).

So he is thrilled to be co-producing some events that focus on African Classical music.

Te curated programme will reflect on how we define ‘classical music’, challenging the Eurocentric narrative of the genre. Contrary to the catch-all term of ‘world music’, these events are an opportunity to discover the breadth of artistic approaches and styles in African classical music.

The first event on the 4th May (Iklectik) will feature a series of collaborative and solo sets from Rebecca Omordia (piano), Tunde Jegede (Kora & Cello), Ibukun Sunday (Electronics & Viola), and Gabriel Prokofiev (field recordings & DJing).

For the second event on the 8th May (The Africa Centre) he will lead a panel discussion on the subject: (Re)defining African Classical Music. Then there will be performances from Bex Burch & Alfa Sackey (on Ghanaian Gyil), then the KRAR Collective (Ethiopian lyre, fiddle, vocals) and a DJ set from Blasio Kavuma.

For tickets and more info click here.