Malawian celebrated guitar virtuoso, Erik Paliani, is set to host unforgettable ‘The Ultimate Guitar Workshop’ in Lilongwe this weekend.
The renowned Jazz maestro Paliani, will host the guitar workshop at Flood Church in Lilongwe on Saturday, 27th January, 2024 where both seasoned guitar players and even those who have just picked up the strings, will be acquainted with skills and be given an opportunity to dive into the world of Jazz and refine their guitar playing skills.
In an interview with this publication, one of the organizers, Trust Msowoya who is also a pianist and music arranger, said the ‘The Ultimate Guitar Workshop’ has been organized to bridge the knowledge gap which he said is haunting the country in as far as guitar playing and music in general is concerned.
Msowoya said, taking advantage of Paliani’s presence in the country, the organizers wanted the guitar magnet, who has starred with international artists such as Zamajobe Sithole and Hugh Masekera, to actually share his knowledge and also inspire upcoming guitar players and musicians to grow, learn and become better at their craft.
“Eric is an amazing guitar player, he’s an international artist, an international producer, he’s an international musician, he’s a well -rounded guy with so much experience and so much knowledge, and in Malawi, there’s a huge knowledge gap in terms of music, and I felt the need to take advantage of Eric’s presence in Malawi currently because he’s been outside of the country and now that he’s here I was like we can take advantage to fill this knowledge gap.
“We want to see people grow, we want to see people play well, we want to see people deliver excellent musical performances, but also, we want to see people connect. We want to see people connect with Eric. We want to see people building relationships. We don’t want any guitarist to work in isolation,” said Msowoya.
The pianist encouraged the Malawi government and the corporate world to render more support to music industry, especially live performances claiming the country has a cream of artists who are already doing great on live acts but lacks motivation and finances to do even more better.
“There is so much growth honestly (on live music). Sustainability of the growth process is the only issue. Live music performers have to be rewarded to keep them motivated. There is need for more mentorship, accountability and collaboration for live music performers to sustain and channel the growth in the the right direction.
“I believe we already have international worth live music performers in the country. What’s lacking is strong policies in associations, government and financial resources to support those acts for export,” added Msowoya.
Msowoya further explained that the ‘The Ultimate Guitar Workshop’ will on Saturday start with a general training session which will end at noon and every student will have to pay K5000, then in the afternoon there shall be an introduction to jazz session and advanced tickets are being sold at K15,000.
He added that the Workshop will on the next weekend, thus 3rd February, 2024 be held in Blantyre but says they are currently looking for partners to host the same event in Mzuzu.
