Retracing Steps & Process of Becoming

Conservatorium van Amsterdam - Master's in Classical Music - Composition

Retracing Steps is a deep dive into Julian’s ancestral lineages. Through his research about Mandinka culture, its music, and West African history with the Kora as the main subject, he came a step closer to whom his ancestors might have encountered. To celebrate this journey, he teams up with his good friends Ranie Ribeiro on Harp and Ngoni and Milton Voyance on Percussion. They all share a similar history of being from the diaspora and aim to let their ancestors talk through their instruments.

“For me, composing has always been a way of communication. It’s not only a way of communicating with my audience, it’s actually a way of communicating with myself. The Kora surely is an instrument to communicate with myself. Being from the Afro-Surinamese Diaspora, feels like I lost many memories of my African heritage. The Kora helps with remembering, so I decided to travel to West Africa and write a thesis and a new composition called Retracing Steps. This is based on the integration of these memories into my own contemporary music."

- Julian Tjon Sack Kie

Recommendation

“In Julian’s current work, rooted in his Surinamese background, his African heritage plays an important role. The research he conducted into this heritage has helped shape his music. He immersed himself in the primeval forests of Suriname, he delved into Mandinka culture and his research into the Kora even led him to build his own instrument. In his musical language, these elements take centre stage, nourished by his compositional skills within the western tradition.”

- Arnold Marinissen, PhD, head of Classical Voice and Composition, Conservatorium van Amsterdam

A project by:

Julian Tjon Sack Kie