Sona Jobarteh, a Gambian-born musician and composer, born on 17th October 1983, is widely acknowledged as the first female Kora genius to hail from a West African Griot family, amalgamating traditional African music with modern stimuli, fashioning a glamorous style.
Moreover, she is an activist and educator, advocating for African culture and education through her organization, the Gambia Academy, which promotes traditional knowledge alongside formal education.
She is the cousin of the illustrious kora player Toumani Diabaté.
The Kora is one of the most important instruments belonging to the Manding peoples of West Africa (Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau).
It belongs exclusively to griot families and usually only men who are born into these families have the right to take up the instrument professionally.
Being a vocalist, Sona is proficient in playing Acoustic Guitar and Kora.
Awarded Ph.D. in Music
The prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, United States of America, awarded Sona Jobarteh a Ph.D. In music.
As an accomplished singer, her spectacular voice, communicable melodies, and poise in performance briskly gained her international success as a world-class musician.
Sona Jobarteh’s live performances demand has whizzed over the years, and 2019 saw her perform at some of the world’s most celebrated festivals and venues, namely the Hollywood Bowl in LA, WOMAD in Australia and New Zealand, and Symphony Space in New York City, whilst also performing all over Europe, in China, Africa, and Canada.
Sona possesses inimitable talent to touch audiences globally, at the same time commanding the attention of sitting presidents and royalty alike.
Her enchanting stage show has substantiated her popularity everywhere – a selection that conveys accessible complexity and an ever-increasing audience.
Sona has featured in award-winning films such as the Hollywood movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and The First Grader – the latter winning the “Discovery of the Year” prize at the Hollywood World Soundtrack Awards in 2012.
