Photographs by: Michael Ramsey www.onespokenimage.com
Fara Tolno was born in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa. He spent his youth in the village of Kissidugu and Guinea’s capital city, Conakry.
Playing djembe since the age of nine, he has traveled extensively performing and teaching both drumming and dance. Fara spent nine years as the lead drummer for Les Merveilles (The Marvelous) de Guinea under the tutelage of West Africa’s most influential director and choreographer, Kemoko Sano.
Fara has performed with many of the world’s premier musicians including Mamady Keita, Burning Spear, Neil Young, Sekouba Bambino, Youssou N’Dour, Salif Keita, Habibe Koite, Oumou Sangare….
Currently Fara is focusing his energy locally by developing Kissidugu and Project Drum, an organization with the mission of bringing the magic of West African music and dance into schools and other organizations. Fara has a magical way of teaching everything from the basics to the beautiful intricacies of West African percussion to Western players of all levels and ages. His energetic and compassionate teaching style make him one of the most sought after drum and dance teachers in the US.
It is for these and many other reasons that we chose Fara Tolno as the premier artist for the Rhythm Reference Project. We have set the standard high.
Click Here to watch video of Fara's Djembe Kan
Click Here to watch video of Fara's Dun Dun Kan
