Derek Gripper and Shumaila Hemani Double Bill (containR Fest)

New Works Calgary is Featuring an evening concert on July 8 at 8pm of Kora-inspired guitarist Derek Gripper (Cape Town), and local Sufi singer-songwriter Shumaila Hemani.

About Derek Gripper:
Derek Gripper is known for his groundbreaking technique for evoking the West African kora on the guitar. He has transcribed the complex music of Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté and infuses his interpretations of Bach’s music with lessons from the oral traditions of Africa. He has performed with Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra and classical guitar legend John Williams, and tours worldwide.

Since his two recordings documenting his translation of the works of Toumani Diabate, “One Night on Earth” (2011) and “Libraries on Fire” (2016) Gripper has been creating a body of original work around the theme of extended cyclical structures. Taking his cue from the improvisational language of West African griots, as well as returning to his early work re-inventing South Africa’s own cyclical ‘koortjie’ tradition, Gripper continues to expand the guitar’s harmonic and expressive potential inspired by the simplicity of the acoustic guitar, one of music’s most personal instruments.

His recent recordings, including “A Year of Swimming” (2020) and “Billy Goes to Durban,” (2021) dovetail between original compositions, spontaneous improvisation and recitations of works by composers like J.S. Bach, Arvo Pärt, Salif Keita, Fanta Sacko and Baaba Maal, bringing seemingly disparate traditions and musical practices together in a seamless guitar experience like no other.

As a teacher Gripper combines the techniques of oral tradition learning with the pedagogy of Maria Montessori and FM Alexander and teaches workshops online and in person as well as hosting a global guitar group online with nine lessons a week and numerous online courses.

About Shumaila Hemani:
Staying rooted within and honouring traditional forms alongside bringing in experimentation, Shumaila Hemani, Ph.D. in Music from the University of Alberta, is an Alberta-based Sufi singer-songwriter, and poet. Her composition: Perils of Heavy Rainfall received Second Prize at the Listening During COVID contest by the Canadian Association of Sonic Ecology (CASE) and the pioneering Canadian soundscape composer Hildegard Westerkamp applauded her for beautifully taking the listeners to an immersive world of different music, chanting, and drones. Hemani’s Sufi poem, Living with Purpose, has been nominated for the Alberta Magazine Awards, Anticipating was featured in the Cross-Canada tour for Suicide Prevention Awareness and Hope, and Perils of Heavy Rainfall will be published in the Goose, Journal of Environment, Arts, and Culture (2022). Hemani will release her debut album, Mannat: The Epic of Sassui and Punhun in Fall 2022. Sh has been on faculty at Semester at Sea and the University of Alberta.