Here you can view the world premiere film of “Still We Tend” with music by Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté. This film was commissioned in 2021 by Musiqa, and created in collaboration with Open Dance Project, choreographed by Annie Arnoult, and filmed by James Templeton. Learn more about the music in this film below in a module designed especially for elementary students.
Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté is the daughter of Mali’s greatest traditional singer, and is beloved in her homeland and abroad for her highly acclaimed performances, compositions and recordings. Her 2018 collaboration with Kronos Quartet resulted in “Tegere Tulon”, a series of handclapping songs transcribed and arranged for string quartet by Jacob Garchik. These songs were created to encourage Malians not to abandon this disappearing cultural heritage. This module was created to help elementary students learn more about this African tradition and string quartets.