Sona Jobarteh is a member of one of the five principal Kora-playing (Griot) families from West Africa and is the first female kora player to come from this prestigious musical family.  She is the granddaughter of the Master Griot of his generation, Amadu Bansang Jobarteh, and cousin of the well-known, celebrated Kora player Toumani Diabaté. She studied the Kora since the age of three, and gave her first performance at London’s Jazz Café when she was just four years of age.

Sona attended the Royal College of Music where she studied cello, piano and harpsichord, and soon after went onto the Purcell School of Music to study composition. During this time she was involved in working on several orchestral projects including the ‘River of Sound’ with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, featuring Evelyn Glennie, and other collaborative works including performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Milton Keynes City Orchestra and the Viva Chamber Orchestra. ­

In 2002 Sona travelled to Vienna to perform with the renowned Jazz vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, also forming a part of his support act for Cassandra Wilson at the Barbican in London. She also featured on Damon Albarn’s Mali Music Project which was later performed for Jools Holland.

As a performing musician Sona has collaborated with musicians from around the world, and is a regular member of the African Classical Music Ensemble which has toured England, Ireland, Africa and parts of the Caribbean. She has contributed to the well-established composer/musician Tunde Jegede’s albums Malian Royal Court Music, Lamentations (for which she composed two pieces, one of which also featured on the album Trans Planet Vol. 5 which was released on Triloka records in the states) and There Was a Time featuring the world class singer Kasse Mady Diabaté. Sona also works with the distinguished spoken word artist HKB FiNN as an instrumentalist, co-writer, singer and producer.

Sona completed a degree in African Languages and Cultures at SOAS University in 2008, and has since continued to divide her time as a performer and teacher of the Kora, sharing its repertoire and history with a new generation of people interested in learning about this most exquisite instrument. Sona completed her debut album entitled Afro Acoustic Soul in 2008, which expresses and explores the many facets of her unique musical heritage.

Sona recenlty finished working on her debut as a film music composer for the film ‘Motherland’ , directed by the renowned film-maker Owen Shahadah, who is creator of the multi award-winning ‘500 Years Later’. Motherland premiered in Febuary 2010 in Los Angeles and won the award of Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival.

Her next album FASIYA, due out later this year, takes her musical expertise to a completely new level. Drawing on her unique heritage and bringing in a selection of top-class West African musicians such as Juldeh Camara, Sankung Jobarteh, Baba Gallé Kante, Babacar Dieng, Femi Temowo, Surahata Susso, Sona is creating an album that is set to be a real gem.