Carnegie Hall

Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko shares the stage in a striking collaboration with French accordionist and composer Cyrille Brotto, for “masterful collaborations of kora and accordion ... a gem from start to finish” (Songlines). Together, they create a unique, yet strikingly modern sound that melds the deep traditions of their very different musical cultures while showcasing each performer’s unique artistry. Cissoko is one of his generation’s finest kora players—a traditional stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa that combines the features of the lute and harp. An avid cross-cultural collaborator, he incorporates Mandinka djeli traditions with contemporary musical composition, performing with artists across genres, including traditional, folk, jazz, classical, and early music. Brotto is an accomplished diatonic accordionist and multi-instrumentalist, with a distinguished performing and educational profile in France and across Europe. The rapport between these two artists is evident in their music, leading Le Monde to characterize their performance as “an enlightened conversation shrouded in melancholy, between voice, kora, and accordion.”

Nisha Sajnani, PhD, is the founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, a collaboration with Community Jameel, the World Health Organization (WHO), New York University Steinhardt, and CULTURUNNERS, where she leads The Lancet’s global series on the health benefits of the arts. Dr. Sajnani is an associate professor and director of NYU’s program in drama therapy and the chair of the NYU Creative Arts Therapies Consortium. Other faculty appointments include NYU Abu Dhabi where she developed a trans-disciplinary course entitled Can Art Save Lives? uniting current evidence for the health benefits of the arts with practice and policy, the NYU Stern School of Business where she teaches Improvisation and Leadership, and the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, where she lectures on the role of the arts in supporting the well-being of people who are forcibly displaced. She received her PhD in interdisciplinary studies, combining drama therapy and community economic development, from Concordia University in Montreal. An award-winning author, educator, and advocate, her body of work explores unique ways in which aesthetic experience can inspire equity, care, and collective human flourishing across the lifespan.