Class Details:

Join Afro-Brazilian Drumming class with the Founder of Batalá as he leads as guest teacher on Thursday, July 25th! This class will break down the music you've heard Batalá play, step by step. Students will be guided in proper stick technique, body positioning, performance strategies, and dynamics for playing any of 4 different drums and other percussion instruments. Play the big surdo to bring in that deep base, the repique to send up that clave, or the agogo bell to resonate and inspire.

Friday, July 25th | 7:30-9pm | In Person

Bio: Giba Gonçalves is a native of Salvador da Bahia, a city known as "Black Rome" and home to powerful and prolific bearers of African culture and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Giba began his career as a dancer and percussionist in several groups such as Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, Muzenza and Tupi Nago. He toured globally with the band KAOMA and performed with other bands in South America, Europe and Africa. In 1997 he moved to Paris where he became leader of Tambourlode. In that same year, Giba founded Batalá, a batucada style samba-reggae ensemble with more than 80 percussionists. He composes the Batalá music and provides vision and guidance for Batalá, which has since grown around the world.

While Giba Gonçalves was abroad his friend Alberto Pitta, the former artistic director of Olodum, started the community reinvestment project Instituto Oya de Arte e Educaçao in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. This project included Bloco Cortejo Afro, a school for dance, percussion, printing, textile design, fashion design and capoeira. Giba Gonçalves is the producer of the band Cortejo Afro, bringing an “Afro-Bahian musical revolution” via a percussive mixture of African rhythms, electronic beats and Brazilian popular music.

Giba Gonçalves has also composed music for various projects, including a commercials for brands such as Nike and films such as "Code Unknown" by Michael Haneke starring Juliette Binoche (MK2 Productions). In 2000, he was assistant musical director of "Festival Latitudes Villette Brésil" and the show "Solstices, Carnavalcade de St. Denis" (France).

To this day, Giba keeps developing the Batala project around the world, collaborating with 47 bands and over 1500 percussionists, in addition to contributing to all forms of sacred and popular culture in Bahia.

Video features a Cumbe special workshop with Mestre Giba