St Anna is a neighbourhood in Tilburg where residents themselves regularly organise activities for the neighbourhood. On the weekend of 15 and 16 April 2023, a 'Window' Route St Anna will be organised, featuring Art & Creativity. At the starting point; the Mattheusbos in Capucijnenstraat,...
Here is a report of the Balafon Meeting held on Saturday 4 February 2023 in Tilburg. We worked on two rhythms that day: Térété & Sanji. We also had a live video conversation via a big screen with Youssouf Keita, who gave an introduction to...
In late 2022, I did some Christmas activities at Kessels Museum Tilburg. At the museum, I have been doing balafon making one day a week for a while now, but with holiday period I also do activities with children. A nice story about the origin of...
For a few years now, Youssouf Keita, my balafon teacher in Burkina Faso, has been telling me about his dream to establish a Foundation to promote balafon music in Bobo Dioulasso. He has been cautiously preparing for the establishment and realization of such a centre...
I found a video on youtube of a music evening at Hotel-Resto ZION; the hotel where we normally stay during our stay in Bobo Dioulasso. It's lovely to see and so reminiscent of the workshops we've already been after there. For any ex-Balafon-Burkina traveller, it...
Negunya played along the road during the Amsterdam Marathon 2022. After the bad weather we had at the Dam-to-Dam Run, we were hoping for nicer weather. It was cold but also with sunshine; so made nice music for the runners. We stood along the main...
On 17 September, as in previous years, Negunya had signed up to play during the ' Dam tot Damloop 2022.' This running race goes from the Zaanse Dam to the Amsterdam Dam. It already promised to be a cold wet day, so I had brought...
You may have thought: "I'd love to build my own balafon! What is normally done in Mali, Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso can now also be done in the Netherlands, in Tilburg.!". Until now, this was really only possible in Africa if you stayed there...
This summer, I carried out a repair of a Timbila, a sound bar instrument used by the Chopi from Mozambique.It's bars are from Padouk-wood.[vc_separator type="transparent" thickness="5"][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Origin[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type="transparent" thickness="5"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]I had not heard...
As Youssouf was coming to the Netherlands I had already planned a Balafonmeeting when he would be there. His brother Aly Keita , who lives in Berlin, wanted to visit his brother in Tilburg and chose to join the Balafonmeeting. Of course, for my students...