Musician's Profile

Suntou Susso is a multi-instrumentalist: a Kora player, percussionist, singer and composer from The Gambia. He was born a Griot in a 700-year old tradition of the Mandinka people. Griots have a unique societal role as oral historians, transmitting and preserving a people's culture through the generations in song, music and poetry. Suntou's family includes some of the world's most well-respected West African musicians, including Mamudou Susso, Seckou Keita, Solo Cissokho and Sura Susso. The Kora is a harp-lute with 22 strings which is unique to the Griots.

At the 2021 Winchfield Festival Suntou’s brother Sekou Keita was due to play the kora in a duo with the Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. But on the day before the concert Sekou caught Covid and had to pull out. Suntou heroically took Sekou’s place(although he had never played with Catrin Finch) and they improvised a duet(with no rehearsal) which was a triumph.

Lots of our Winchfield Festival followers thought that this concert was the highlight of the Festival and we were inundated with requests to arrange for Suntou to play at the 2023 Festival to show us what he could do if he had a chance to practise in advance.

 Suntou’s programme will cover both traditional Kora music (based on the Griot tradition)and the new Kora music which is amplified and jazz-influenced.

Suntou will perform in St Mary's Church at 7.30 on Wednesday 28th June, 2023

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