Meet Class Notes Artist: Siama's Congo Roots

Listen to Siama Matuzungidi and Dallas Johnson from Siama's Congo Roots chat with host Julie Amacher and check out photos from their time in the music class at Zanewood Community School in Brooklyn Park.

SCR — L-R: Tim O'Keefe, percussion; Siama Matuzungidi, vocals, mbira, guitar, xylophone; Dallas Johnson, vocals, shakers; with their Africa backdrop in the music classroom at Zanewood Elementary in Brooklyn Park. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Married couple Dallas Johnson and Siama Matuzungidi love to make music together and share it with kids. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — The kids were excited and engaged with the ensemble. (Courtney Perry)

CSR — Dallas shows students where the Congo (Siama's homeland) is in Africa. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Siama holds up the "mbira" or "thumb-piano". He holds it in two hands and plunks the metal bars. He has a mic pick-up on it plugged into an amp to make it louder, because it is naturally a soft-sounding instrument. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Kids pretend to sleep in Siama's village under the stars. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Side view of Tim's various percussion. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Dallas Johnson encourages children to participate in call-and-response singing on "Yele-yele." (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Everyone makes hawks or "yimbis" with their hands. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Tim demonstrates how to play the "shekere," a large gourd shaker with a net of beads on the outside. One can hit the bottom and shake the entire gourd to get a drum and shaker sound at the same time. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Tim demonstrates how to play the shekere. Kids try out Tim's collection of shekeres and drums. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Dallas shows off shakers she brought back from the Congo made from scrap metal.(Courtney Perry)

SCR — The homemade scrap metal shakers have pointy ends! (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Siama chats with a boy after the performance. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — A girl checks out Siama's guitar. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — Siama shows a child his xylophone. (Courtney Perry)

SCR — And then they have a hug. (Courtney Perry)

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