Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission St San Francisco, CA 94105 USA
Fri
May 13, 2016
9:00 pm
 - 
4:00 am
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About

MoAD celebrates the opening of the new SFMOMA by offering FREE admission along with our Yerba Buena neighbors: California Historical Society, Children’s Creativity Museum, Mexican Museum with Precita Eyes, Contemporary Jewish Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Yerba Buena Garden Festival. Bring your family, and experience our new exhibitions!

Along with free admission, kora-led performances by music composer Keenan Webster will take place in the lobby of the museum throughout the day.

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Keenan Webster was born in Nashville, Tennessee with a love of music deepened as a teenager in Los Angeles, California, where he began his music studies with Master Teachers from Africa and Cuba. He is influenced by music giants John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal, El Hadj Kouyate, Toumani Diabate, Robert Johnson, lip James, Johnny Shines, Habib, Koite and Keletigue Diabate. The music traditions of Latin America, Sumatra and India also infiltrate his style.

Keenan performs the 21 string kora (11 played by the left hand and 10 by the right), a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin with a long, hardwood neck. It doesn't fit into any one category of musical instruments and is classified as a "double-bridge-harp-lute." The kora is played in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and the Gambia.

He also performs on the balaphone (from West Africa), West African drums from the Mandingo or Mende people, the flute and saxophone.

Keenan Webster will perform intermittent 20 min sets on the half hour, starting at 11:30am, 12:30, 1:30pm, 2:30, and final set at 3:30pm.

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