Mali’s Ballaké Sissoko is an international star known for “intricate, dazzling” (The Guardian) performances on the traditional, 21-stringed West African kora. Derek Gripper is a classically trained Cape Town, South Africa, guitarist with “an uncanny and unique approach to playing African music” (Afropop Worldwide).
On Sunday, Feb. 1, these two virtuosos will join forces for a recital in WashU’s E. Desmond Lee Music Hall. The intimate performance is part of the 2026 Great Artists Series, presented by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Sissoko is the son of kora pioneer Djelimady Sissoko, whose landmark “Ancient Strings” (1970) was the first album devoted to the instrument. Ballaké and Gripper first shared a stage in 2022 and soon reunited in a London recording studio. Despite not sharing a common spoken language, they cut an album in just three hours.
That release, “Ballaké Sissoko & Derek Gripper,” is “a compelling string conversation which reflects improvisation and dialogue at their best, taking the listener into unchartered territories,” noted Songlines magazine, which named it album of the year. Added KLOF Magazine: “There is such depth and imagination in every track, that you hear quite different things on each listen.”
Great Artists Series
Each year, the Great Artists Series hosts intimate recitals with some of the brightest stars on the contemporary concert stage. The series will continue March 1 with pianist Conrad Tao and March 29 with Grammy winner Isabel Leonard. Detroit’s Grammy-winning Catalyst String Quartet will perform April 12. Concluding the series April 30 will be British cellist Steven Isserlis, joined by Canadian pianist Connie Shih.
Tickets and related events
The performance will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. Tickets are $40, or $37 for seniors and WashU faculty and staff, and $15 for students and children. Tickets are available through the WashU Box Office, 314-935-6543. For more information, visit the music website.
In addition, at noon Monday, Feb. 2, the music department will host an informal talk with Sissoko about the kora and its significance in West African musical traditions. Joining Sissoko will be Patrick Burke, a professor and chair of music, and El Hadji Samba Amadou Diallo, a senior lecturer in African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences. The talk is free and open to the public and takes place in the Pillsbury Theatre. Read more information on the music website.
The E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall and the Pillsbury Theatre are located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., at the intersection with Delmar Boulevard. The Great Artists Series is made possible with support from the Regional Arts Commission and from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
