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Carnegie Hall Presents

Ensemble Connect Up Close

Fara Niokonkan, Coming Together
Friday, May 9, 2025 7:30 PM Resnick Education Wing
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Join Ensemble Connect for an exhilarating evening of cross-cultural collaboration. Trailblazing cellist Mike Block and Malian balafon player Balla Kouyaté lead this high-energy performance, showcasing the powerful exchange of musical traditions. Block and Kouyaté have taught Ensemble Connect fellows traditional Malian and American folk music by ear. Now, they come together onstage for a joyful, one-of-a-kind concert filled with virtuosic improvisation, soulful melodies, and electrifying rhythms.

Enjoy the music in a lively, intimate setting with a complimentary drink or food item.
Purchasing 10 or more tickets? Contact Group Sales.

Ensemble Connect: Also performing April 10, October 28, January 31, 2026, February 17, 2026, April 13, 2026, and May 6, 2026.

Performers

Ensemble Connect
Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block Duo, Artistic Partner
- Balla Kouyaté, Balafon and Vocals
- Mike Block, Cello and Vocals

Ensemble Connect is a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. 

Lead funding has been provided by Max H. Gluck Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, The Kovner Foundation, Phyllis and Charles Rosenthal, Edmond de Rothschild Family Philanthropy, Beatrice Santo Domingo, and Hope and Robert F. Smith.

Global Ambassadors: Michael ByungJu Kim and Kyung Ah Park, Hope and Robert F. Smith, and Maggie and Richard Tsai.

Additional support has been provided by the Kathi and Peter Arnow Foundation, Ronald E. Blaylock and Petra Pope, E.H.A. Foundation, Barbara G. Fleischman, Clive and Anya Gillinson, Stella and Robert Jones, Martha and Robert Lipp, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation, Melanie and Jean E. Salata, The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon, Carlos Tome and Theresa Kim, and David S. Winter.
Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Education. 
Ensemble Connect is also supported, in part, by endowment grants from The Kovner Foundation and the Estate of Eleanor Doblin Unger.

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