Training the next generation of Malian musicians during conflict

Mali’s famous festival in the desert was cancelled this year in the north of the country, another casualty of the country’s continuing unrest. But in Bamako the world-famous kora player Toumani Diabaté helped to organize another music event, bringing musicians into the capital for the first time in years. This festival was hosted by the city’s Balla Fasséké Kouyaté Conservatory - a centre for training young people in music and a range of arts. Katarina Höije reports from the conservatory that’s training the next generation of Malian musicians.

Artist Jonathan Dembele studied classical music at the Balla Fasseke Kouyate Conservatory. He says he still prefers the folk music of his Malian ethnic group. Katarina Höije

As the semester at the Balla Fasseke Kouyate Conservatory in Bamako is coming to an end, the students are busy preparing for their final exams. Katarina Höije

In 2004, Abdoulaye Konate founded the Balla Fasseke Kouyate Conservatory for arts. At this time, the conservatory that teaches arts, music and multimedia was the first institution in Mali providing higher education within the arts. Katarina Höije