Ardaa Ensemble

Ardaa Ensemble is led by poet Ahmed Yusuf on vocals with Magan playing the Oud and vocals, and fellow COMPAS Teaching Artist and Performer mick laBriola on percussion.

After fleeing Somalia, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf lived in several states, but has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1997. He did not speak English when he arrived, he was a high-school dropout, and he was not sure what his actual age was. Today, he has two college degrees and is the author of Somalis in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, and Gorgorkii Yimi, a collection of stories in Somali, published by Ponte Invisible. In February 2018, The History Theatre of St. Paul, Minnesota, will produce his play, “A Crack in the Sky,” a memoir about how Yusuf found inspiration in Maya Angelou and Malcolm X during his early days as an immigrant to the U.S.

Raised in a nomadic upbringing, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf is the author of three books: Gorgorkii Yimi, a collection of short stories in Somali, The Lion’s Binding Oath, a collection of short stories in English, and Somalis in Minnesota. His short stories appeared in Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, Mizna: An Arab-American literary magazine. His play “A Crack in the Sky” was produced at the History Theatre in Saint Paul, and others were performed at Pangea as well as Mixed Blood Theatre. His mental health publications appeared in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, the International Society for Traumatic-stress Studies, and Psychiatry Times. He has a BS in creative writing and psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and an MPA (Master of Public Affairs) from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.

More on the music of Somalia:

Somalia boasts a rich history of poetry and dance. From the 1930s, a growing number of artists started playing the rhythms, melodies, and harmonies on ouds, violins, accordions, and other instruments. In the process, they created new Somali genres like balwo and heello, which later cross-pollinated with music from neighboring countries. From the 1950s through to the late 1990s, musicians developed their craft by delving deeper into local genres. Traditional instruments such as nasaro (high ritual drum), madhuube (thumb piano), fuugwo (trumpet), shareero (lute), muufe (horn), and seese (one-chord violin) were integrated with, and in some instances replaced by, the guitar, sax, keyboard, and drums. This represented a turning point. Somali music expanded beyond the confines of traditional folk music to fuse with non-Somali genres such as maqam (Arabic), taarab (East African), jazz, funk, afrobeat, and reggae.

Ardaa means outdoor patio – community gathering in an outdoor patio with music or not.

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