Sara McGuinness

sarasmile

Welcome to this website where I bring together my various activities. I have a combined career as a musician and academic. My musical ventures are primarily in the world of Cuban and Congolese music, running two professional bands – Grupo Lokito and Sarabanda – and a community-based Cuban big band – Orquesta Estelar. I run annual big band courses in Havana, Cuba with a wonderful team of Cuban musicians and various summer schools and workshops in the UK. You can find out more about all of these activities in this website, together with a list of upcoming gigs.

My academic activities link to my musical work. I teach Music Performance and Sound recording at the London College of Music and the School of Oriental and African Studies. I have worked with Sandblast Arts to deliver sound recording training in the Saharawi Refugee Camps in the Sahara desert and am currently developing a project in the camps with London College of Music exams. Through my extensive work with musicians around the world, I actively explore the inextricable links between music, culture and identity.

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