posted 01/16/12 01:42 PM | updated 01/17/12 12:12 PM
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Concert by African Ensemble H'Sao A Must See This Sat. SV Opera House 6:30PM

By SunValleyCenter
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Initially too poor to buy instruments, the African group H’Sao rose to worldwide fame on the strength of its magnificent unaccompanied vocals and high-energy live performances.

H’Sao (say “ah-shhh-ow”) brings its unique African/Western music to the Sun Valley Opera House on Saturday, January 21, as part of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Winter Performance Series.

“People are just going to love this group,” says Kristine Bretall, The Center’s Director of Marketing and Performing Arts. “Their a cappella songs are amazingly gorgeous, and when they add in keyboards, drums, guitar and bass they produce danceable music that’s a mixture of jazz, pop, gospel, soul and R&B, with strong African roots. I guarantee that they’ll have people up on their feet and likely dancing in the aisles!”

H’Sao got its start in Chad, a former French territory in Central Africa, when siblings Caleb, Mossbass, Taroum and Israel Rimtobaye began singing in the church where their father was pastor. Lacking the money to buy instruments, they developed a distinctive and proficient a cappella style. As they began performing publicly in the mid-1990s, they added Charles and Service Ledjebgue to the group.

In October 2000, as part of their first ten-show tour, H’Sao was invited to the Fest’Africa festival in Lille, France. Soon after, they recorded their first demo and were able to buy instruments with their earnings. Until then they had been creating and performing beautiful music with only their voices.

In March 2001, H’sao was selected to represent Chad at a festival in Ottawa, and the band relocated to Montreal that summer. Invitations started pouring in—Montreal International Jazz Festival, Festival Nuits d’Afrique, Francofolies de Montreal, Festival des Musiques du Monde. H’Sao has filled concert halls in Sweden, Ireland, the United States, Colombia, Canada, South Africa, and Australia with vibrant African rhythms and hopeful words.

While in the Wood River Valley, H’Sao will be doing a school residency performing at Woodside, Bellevue, Hailey and Hemingway Elementary Schools.

Show Starts at 6:30pm • Sun Valley Opera House. Individual tickets for H’Sao are $20 Sun Valley Center for the Arts members, $30 for nonmembers and $10 for students 18 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.sunvalleycenter.org, call 726.9491 ex 10 or stop by The Center in Ketchum. The 2011/2012 Winter Performing Arts Series is sponsored in part by Boise State Public Radio.

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