Performance and educational demonstration featuring the West African kora. Sean Gaskell features songs on the kora- a 21 stringed West African harp. As a student of the instrument, he studied under the instruction of Moriba Kuyateh and the late Malamini Jobarteh at their home in Brikama, Gambia, over multiple extensive visits. The kora is traditionally played by oral historians known as Griots. Many songs featured on the kora preserve an 800 year history dating back to the founding of the Mande empire. Gaskell has presented adult, youth and family programs at over 350 libraries and a multitude of k-12 schools, colleges, universities and assisted living facilities in the United States and Canada.