Canceled: Global Transfer Afterglow: Derek Gripper
On March 11, 2020, the University of Illinois communicated new guidelines for university operations, enacted to safeguard health during current COVID-19 conditions.
In accordance with these guidelines, all public performances at Krannert Center the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester are canceled as of Monday, March 16, 2020. While this action is necessary and wise, we are of course deeply saddened not to be able to help create experiences of joy and community in person at this time.
Read the complete Krannert Center COVID-19 update.
Derek Gripper, a featured ELLNORA 2013 guitarist, owes much of his playing to the guitar style of Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti. From Gismonti, Gripper gets his love of timbre, pulsing drones in different parts of the guitar, and long form structures. Unlike Gismonti, however, his harmonic language does not come from jazz and classical music but rather from the music of Africa—Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe—a language which Gripper learned by transcribing works by some of these countries' greatest performers such as Toumani Diabaté, Ali Farka Touré, Salif Keita, Amadou Bansang Jobarteh, Baaba Maal, Madosini, and Chiwoniso. His works for string quartet, larger ensembles, or installations have been performed/exhibited at The Venice Architecture Biennale and the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival in the United Kingdom and used in films such as Five Fingers For Marseilles.
