CU Folk and Roots Festival: Vitalis ‘Samaita’ Botsa with Erica Azim – Ancient Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

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1:30-3:00PM: Mbira Workshop @ Community Center for the Arts (C4A)

4:00-5:00PM: Performance @ Hotel Royer

All are welcome to attend an Improvisers Exchange Workshop with Vitalis “Samaita” Botsa and Erica Azim. The workshop will include a demonstration on how music improvisation presents in the tradition of Shona mbira music.

One of the greatest living improvisers of Shona classical mbira music, master musician Vitalis “Samaita” Botsa creates breathtaking waves of sound with his mbira, connecting the living with the non-living (one’s ancestors).  Samaita lives in northeastern Zimbabwe where he teaches mbira to school children, performs in traditional ceremonies, and farms with his family. He is featured on eleven mbira albums.

A musician who has worked in Zimbabwe and Berkeley, CA, Erica Azim is known for her expertise with Shona mbira music. She founded MBIRA, a non-profit in Berkeley supporting traditional music of Zimbabwe through education, performances, and recordings in the United States and worldwide.

Samaita and Erica will be featured admission free as part of the CU Folk and Roots Festival on Saturday, October 4, offering a 1:30pm mbira workshop @ C4A and a 4:00pm performance @ Hotel Royer. For more information visit: folkandroots.org