"I was very happy to be in Malta three years ago. I really felt at home and that’s why I can never stop talking about Malta everywhere I go. In 1999 I focused on the djembe, a typical West African drum. This time I would like to introduce not only the djembe but also many other drums from Africa, because the “Ritmi” project of the Third World Group is all about “rhythm” and I would like to make people feel the many rhythms produced by different drums. In this way, at the end of the workshops, people can feel and take what they need from the energy.

Working and playing with leading Maltese percussionist Renzo Spiteri will be a very interesting experience for me, not only from the musical point of view but also because I see myself as a “missionary” of joy, and my mission is to gather people and to “connect” them through music. The world is in need of “peace makers” more than ever before.

Musically speaking, ours will be the type of concert that takes its lead from the encounter, the “feeling” that is created between two musicians from cultures that seem so distant and yet can connect in an almost “magical” way because they believe that music brings people together. I think that the main idea of the concerts that Renzo and I will be giving together is not to show our audiences how well we play but to share with them the gift we have. And some of them must have something to share with us too. This is what made the concert we held at the University during the African Week in 1999 so special.

During my two-week visit to Malta in February and March, I will be joined by a “laobe”, or traditional drum maker. He will be taking part in the workshops too, explaining both his work and the role of the “laobe” in Africa.

One of the aims of my visit to Malta is to finance the multicultural centre I have built for children and young people in Senegal. I think that this aim fits in well with the projects and the voluntary work that the Third World Group has been doing for so many years in Malta and in other countries. I am happy that my visit will not only help the group finance its projects, but also foster greater understanding between different peoples and cultures, something which I know the Group truly believes in. " 

January, 2002

Ghall-Ewwel Pagna | To the First Page