TOBAGO MUHTADI INTERNATIONAL DRUMMING FESTIVAL 2007

“And the beat goes on”, a cliché that you’ve heard over and over ,and this year the Tobago Muhtadi International Drumming Festival 2007 would deliver a diversity of rhythms to ‘blow your mind’ as the saying goes. The festival would showcase unique artistes and drums from diverse cultures around the globe; in a forum which incorporates a mix of rhythms and percussion.

Tobago is again the destination to host the third annual International Drumming Festival. The festival would be a two-day star-studded event, which would be staged at the Dwight Yorke Stadium on Saturday 4th August and at Fort Granby on Sunday 5th August, 2007.

Some may ask why a drumming festival ? but the answer lies in the realization of the importance of the drum to all cultures around the world. The drum was the first instrument, it was the first form of communication, it is the foundation of all genres of music, it is a common language that connects all cultures and it is the rhythm of the heart.

The festival mission statement is to provide an annual event which celebrates the drum as an international instrument that showcases professional artists locally, nationally, and internationally. The festival would enable active community participation, which would reflect the diversity of our changing communities and nurture a lifelong appreciation and involvement of the art form in our diverse communities.

This year the festival features many foreign artistes from various cultural backgrounds and these include the following-

AMARA KANTE was born in Abidjan , Ivory Coast to a family of Malinke blacksmiths from Guinea. At age 7, he joined the Ensemble Koteba d’Abidjan, (the national dance company of the Ivory Coast ) .

SAMBA SQUAD
This 30-plus-member ensemble drum group rose from a community-based drumming school to become one of the most dynamic and sought-after acts on the Canadian world and Latin music scenes. Samba Squad was awarded the UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada) Award for Best World Recording 2001.

TRICHY SANKERAN
Professor Sankaran is a world-renowned percussionist specializing in South Indian mrdangam and kanjira, a scholar, composer, and Director of the Indian Program at York University in Toronto , Canada.

MUHTADI AND THE WORLD DRUMMERS
This group is made up of drummers from diverse musical traditions (Indian, Caribbean , African, Aboriginal, and more).

NGOMA
Ngoma is pronounced “goma”, meaning both drum and dance in Swahili. This versatile group of vibrant young drum and dance performers (ages 6 through 22), will celebrate its 11th anniversary this year.

CADRE
Cadre has been active in the promotion and preservation of precision, rudimental drumming since 1997. CADRE performs using two types of drums for cadences, designed to ‘march’ troops.
GURPREET CHANA

Twenty-two years ago, Gurpreet Chana began learning Indian Classical Tabla in the traditional Punjab Gharana (style) from his Ustad Ji professor, Parshotam Singh. He now plays his own unique style and mesmerizes crowds with Tabla Fusion.

ARABESQUE DRUMMERS
This group is an integral part of the Arabesque Dance Company that has emerged as Canada ’s leading Middle Eastern dance and music ensemble.
They promote an art form that is often misunderstood yet has persevered through 2000 years of repression.

The performers from Trinidad and Tobago will include Jah Jah Onilu, Oshun Singers, Culture Shoppe, San Juan Tassa Drummers, Royal Sweet Fingers, Jaime /Lincoln Pan Duet, and many more local artistes.