Check the dates below, sign up for lessons, or visit our calendar for all the upcoming events! Sign-ups for Winter Semester Lesson and Ensembles begins soon!
Join us for a joyful celebration of art, music, and community! Free and open to everyone. Donations are gratefully accepted.
Join us at the Claremont Creative Center for an open house party with music including a special performance of “O Holy Night” and music by our students, art making, sweets and snacks, and a raffle.
All donations benefit the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts’ community music and arts programs, and the Claremont Creative Center Building in downtown Claremont!
This Giving Tuesday we ask you to consider supporting WCCMA! Your contributions not only make incredible performances by award-winning musicians happen in Claremont, it supports art classes, music lessons, ensembles, and school residencies – AND it supports the beautiful Claremont Creative Center venue. We have big projects planned in 2026 and beyond, your support now helps us keep the home fires burning until then!
We hope to see you Thursday for the first time ever performance of the Power of Balafon with internationally renown artists Mamadou Diabate and Balla Kouyate (with a guest appearance on conga of our great friend and percussionist Stuart Paton!)
Then come party with music art and goodies at the Winter Celebration on December 19th! We’ll have student musician performers and special guest singer Morgan Brophy singing “O Holy Night,” plus art activities and more!
Check the dates below, sign up for lessons, or visit our calendar for all the upcoming events! Sign-ups for Winter Semester Lesson and Ensembles begins soon! I hope to see you soon at our next event.
The Power of Balafon: Balla Kouyaté & Mamadou Diabaté Thursday 12/4 6:30–8:00 PM @ Claremont Creative Center
Renowned award-winning percussionists/multi-instrumentalists Balla Kouyaté and Mamadou Diabaté’s new collaborative project makes the impossible possible! Join us for an intimate small ensemble – the first performance of these new works.
Representing two powerhouse African balafon family legacies, this is the first time ever that the two differently tuned African balafons – one from Burkina Faso and one from Mali – are able to perform together in harmony. Kouyaté has built a special instrument so that the scales of the two instruments are no longer in dissonance, allowing the two virtuosos to compose and perform together in tandem. The high-energy and innovative musicianship of the two artists creates an uplighting and energetic audience experience!
Check the dates below, sign up for lessons, or visit our calendar for all the upcoming events! I hope to see you soon at our next event.
WCCMA is thrilled to be offering 2 new ensembles for middle-school aged (and older) students – beginning and intermediate band! Dr. Eric Linke, our new Music Education Coordinator is leading these two great groups of kids. We are please to welcome homeschool and Claremont Middle School students to this 6-week winter program, also tied in to a initiative with WCCMA, CMS, and CMS parents partnering up to save the band and choir programs this year. We are thrilled to have experienced WCCMA teachers who are able to step up to provide new and continuing music education for Claremont and area kids!
Join us, friends! We’ll sing from the Sacred Harp (Denson, 1991)
Free with donations gladly accepted. All are welcome; no experience is necessary. Loaner books available.
Music and Meditation with Mamadou Diabaté and Melissa Richmond Sunday 11/16 11:00 AM–12:00 PM @ Union Episcopal Church
Suggested donation: $25, or pay what you can.
Join us at the juncture of ancient healing, world traditions, and contemporary music masters. Special guest, African Musician Mamadou Diabate joins us for this very special session. Come ready to relax, and absorb this special experience that is neither a concert nor a sound bath – but something truly magical and music filled. Dress comfortably and be ready to clear your mind and recharge.
Mamadou Diabaté was born into a traditional musician family (Sambla people) in Burkina Faso (West Africa), with a long tradition of practising the profession of story telling and music making. At the age of 5 he started his professional training with his father Penegue Diabate, who in his days was considered the best balafon player far beyond the bordes of the sambla culture. At 8 he began with his apprenticeship years with renowned balafonists of neighboring peoples. In 1988 and 1998 he won the first prize of the “National Culture Week” of Burkina Faso. He currently lives in Austria. With his group Percussion Mania he won the Austrian World Music Award (2011) and the Grand Prix of the “Triangle du Balafon” Competition in Mali (2012). For his virtuosity, he was there also honored with the “Prix Alkaly Camara de la virtuosité”.
Musician Melissa Richmond presents the ancient Tibetan Singing Bowls as a foundation to exploring the depth of music and how it heals and inspires us on our deepest levels. Going beyond the contemporary “sound bath” concept, Richmond dives into the roots of the tradition to find sacred meeting points with culture bearers from around the world. Aside from being an experienced musician, arts educator, and non profit executive, Richmond is a certified sound healer, reiki master, and wellness consultant.
The Power of Balafon: Balla Kouyaté & Mamadou Diabaté Monday 12/4 6:30–8:00 PM @ Claremont Creative Center
Renowned award-winning percussionists/multi-instrumentalists Balla Kouyaté and Mamadou Diabaté’s new collaborative project makes the impossible possible! Join us for an intimate small ensemble – the first performance of these new works.
Representing two powerhouse African balafon family legacies, this is the first time ever that the two differently tuned African balafons – one from Burkina Faso and one from Mali – are able to perform together in harmony. Kouyaté has built a special instrument so that the scales of the two instruments are no longer in dissonance, allowing the two virtuosos to compose and perform together in tandem. The high-energy and innovative musicianship of the two artists creates an uplighting and energetic audience experience!
