WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS PRESENTS: ZIKINA, JUNE 20, 2018
The Porter-Phelps- Huntington Museum continues the 37th season of Wednesday Folk Traditions concert series on Wednesday, June 20 th with the return of Zikina, featuring Uganda native Gideon Ampeire playing an exciting fusion of Ugandan folk music with contemporary influences. This and all other performances are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Sunken Garden at the Porter-Phelps- Huntington Museum. Admission is $12, $2 for children 16 and under. Picnickers are welcome on the museums grounds starting at 5:00 pm. The museum and its grounds are a smoke-free site.
Zikina seamlessly blends Gideon Ampeire’s intricate vocals and handmade instruments with rhythms and sounds from disparate cultures and parts of the world. Ampeire is joined by Mike Cardozo on guitar, Roston Kirk, bass, and Kade Parkin on drums. Building upon Ampeire’s musical and cultural heritage, Zikina weaves together intense grooves, joyous dance beats, and dreamy textures from Ampeire’s handmade East African harps, zithers, and thumb pianos. Zikina wishes its listeners to approach their music with curiosity, asking “What is that he’s playing?” and to enjoy the wide variety of sounds they’ve woven together and their interplay of traditional African music and modern sounds.
Ampeire enchants audience with a range of East African instruments that he builds himself—including enanga (zither), adungu (harp), and kalimba (thumb piano). An accomplished musician, he has established himself as a master instrument maker and educator on Ugandan folk music. In addition to performing with Zikina, Ampeire has spread Ugandan folk music as the leader of Echo Uganda, playing over the Northeast United States, Canada, and appearing at the United Nations. Now, he’s joined with other Pioneer Valley musicians trained in both traditional African music as well as jazz and funk to form Zikina.
Ampeire and Mike Cardozo met while studying West African drumming at Wesleyan University. They teamed up with bassist Roston Kirk and drummer Kade Parkin, to form and to create a mixof new sonic textures that are completely new and unique. Cardozo specializes in Jazz and West African music, brilliantly bringing together a modern variety of sounds. Kirk studied film scores at Berklee School of Music, and Parkin is a versatile drummer who has studied fusion music and afro-beat; together they form Zikina’s ethereal rhythmic texture, bringing together East African beats with influence from other genres.
To visit Zikina's website: Click Here