The Workshop Teachers

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Sayon Camara was born in the village of Kouya Sidia in Guinea, West Africa.

When he was seven his father gifted him with a djembe. After drumming in the village for over thirty years and serving as Kouya Sidia’s djembefola (djembe player), while cultivating rice and working for a brief period in the diamond mines, Sayon left his village, solidly grounded in the Malinke musical tradition, for Guinea’s capitol. In Conakry, Sayon was introduced to Guinea’s foremost djembe player, Famoudou Konate.

For more than a decade Sayon studied intensively with Famoudou Konate, playing djembe and dununs for him, teaching people from all over the world at his workshops, playing at festivals and concerts and playing on several of Famoudou's CDs.

Sayon has performed and taught in the US, Canada and Japan. He remains a sought after musician in his homeland, for occasions such as marriages, naming ceremonies, and other festivals both traditional and contemporary .

Sayon is an unusually gifted teacher with a rare sensitivity to the student’s perspective.

Namory Keita was born in 1982 in the village of Sangbarala, Guinea, West Africa. At age 7 he began drumming for village ceremonys. Over the years he grew and eventually became the lead village drummer.

Namory's musical growth is in large part due to the tutelage of his uncle, Famoudou Konate, a world famous West African master drummer.

Namory has been invited to Germany, Poland, France, Portugal and Canada to share his culture though performance and teaching.

Since coming to live in America in 2010, he has played with Famoudou Konate, Mamady Keita, Bolokada Conde, Moussa Traore, among others.

Namory Keita, is a sought after teacher and performer with a unique style and a wealth of traditional knowledge, rare to find outside the villages of Guinea.

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