Teaching Artist Profile

Atiba Kwabena Wilson is the founder and artistic director of both Songhai Djeli and the Befo’ Quotet.. He was the recipient of a full scholarship for voice and flute, earning his Bachelors of Art in Music from Long Island University, where  he studied arrangement and orchestration for jazz ensembles with bassist Calvin Hill. Atiba also studied improvisation with John Lewis (pianist/director of the Modern Jazz Quartet) while he attended New York City College.

In addition to his 30+ years as an arts educator, Atiba also performs with his two ensembles: Songhai Djeli, founded in 1985, is a folkloric ensemble whose repertoire is based upon traditional Afrikan approaches to music, poetry and storytelling; while the Befo’ Quotet, founded in 2004, is a “rhythm ‘n dues” band that focuses on original and contemporary expressions of Afrikan music and spoken word developed in the U.S. and other regions of the western hemisphere. 

https://songhaidjeli.com