M’Bemba Bangoura is a true master drummer from Guinea, West Africa. He is a veteran of “Ballet Djoliba”, the national drum and dance company of Guinea, and travels around the world teaching and performing djembe music. He is exceptional at working with all level students at the same time and also manages to challenge everyone.

M’Bemba will teach djembe and dundun parts for rhythms from West Africa, including solo phrases for the djembe. Students in M’Bemba’s class will get the history and context of the traditional and modern West African rhythms, many of which M’Bemba helped develop while in Guinea.

M’Bemba has a unique style that gets students up and running, learning to improvise and be creative while also learning the traditional rhythms!

As a musician, artistic director and educator, he has spent over twenty years performing, teaching and studying West African, Afro-Cuban, and American styles of drumming. Along with a BFA in percussion, he was mentored by accomplished master indigenous artists and travels often to Guinea to learn more. Michael is a visionary and charismatic teacher, and has taught throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Michael co-produced and released a CD of his group, Magbana, and a DVD of master drummers from Guinea. He released a popular series of 11 educational percussion CD and has more on the way featuring M’bemba Bangoura.

Michael regularly develops and conducts workshops and masterclasses for national and international Percussion Conventions, various Universities, public and private schools, festivals, community centers, and everywhere in-between. Commissioned work includes composing and directing choreography for Ethos Percussion at the Symphony Space in New York City, and Forces of Nature at the Apollo Theater.

Fara began his studies in the percussion arts in 1993, under the tutelage of the Bayo family from Kankan, who were at that time residing at the Camp Camayenne military base in Conakry, Guinea. While at Camp Camayenne, he also studied with Moussa Kourouma and Billy Nankouma. He soon began performing, first with the Sanké Jeanne Makôles ballets in 1999. In 2000, Fara and members of the Sanké Jeanne Makôles ballet created a new group called the Grand Sorcier Papa Kouyaté.

In 2003, Fara was honored to join the National Ensemble of Percussions de Guinée (after an introduction by Billy Nankouma), and he traveled with Percussions de Guinée to Egypt in 2015 and 2019 to perform. In 2010, Fara created his own group, Fara Percussions. His hope was to form a troupe featuring the finest music and dance talents in all of Guinée-Conakry.

Throughout his career, Fara has worked with and learned from renowned West African percussionist, such as Fadouba Oularé, Coungbana (master of Sangban), Lancei Konté (master of Doundoun), Ali Sylla (master of Djembe), and Lamine Lopez (master of Djembe).