Trevor Ferrier

Trevor John Ferrier was born into a family of Scottish origin.

At age 11, he began to study with the Scottish master snare drummer, John Blair Kerr. Having become a specialist in this field, he earned the North American Solo Drumming Championship in three consecutive years.

In 1978, he formed the Celtic group Rare Air with Pat O'Gorman and Grier Coppins and the guitarist, Richard Murai. Rare Air recorded 5 albums, and toured in North America and Europe for more than ten years.

In 1989, he discovered African percussion and the sanza with Cameroonian musician Njacko Backo. With Njacko, he played in the group Kalimba Kalimba, with whom he recorded 5 albums.

In 2004, Trevor met Sadio Sissokho, a kora player and percussionist from the Senegal. With Sadio, Trevor began the group, Mafrica.

In 2009, Trevor met the master balafonist, Naby Camara. His studies in balafon music inspired him to rethink the sanza and, in collaboration with instrument maker Stephen Woloshyn, he invented a sanza that used the melodic design of the kora. With this new instrument in place, Trevor began the collaboration with Sadio that led to the creation of Sanza Percussions et Sadio Sissokho.

Sadio Sissokho

Sadio Sissokho comes from a renowned family of the griots.

The griots of West Africa are an ancestral lineage of musicians who are the carriers of the oral traditions of music, song and storytelling. Sadio's instrument of choice, the kora, the African harp-lute, was also the speciality of his father and many of his brothers.

In 1998, Sadio completed his three year program in traditional music studies at the National Conservatory of Music and Percussion of Dakar, Sénégal.

As a multi-instrumentalist, he is equally comfortable on the djembe, the sabars, the douns-douns, the tama or talking drum and the kora. In 2003, he immigrated to Quebec and joined to the groups Taafé Fanga, Kabakuwo and Sam Fall, working as a singer, kora player, and percussionist. Sadio has accompanied countless artists such as Juno award winner, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Wilfred Lebouthier, and Ouanani with Jean Arsenault.  

In 2004, he founded, with Trevor John Ferrier, the group Mafrica, featuring a traditional repertoire of West African percussion music and his own compositions. In addition to his acoustic work as the soloist, percussionist and singer with Sanza Percussions et Sadio Sissokho, Sadio leads his own group, Djali Sadio Mandingue Moderne featuring his own compositions and collaborations with Valerie Ivy Hamelin.

François Séguin

Born into a family of artists, François Seguin was introduced to classical music at a young age.

François began the study of African and Brazilian percussion in 2008.

He studied with such renowned teachers as Hans Longpré, Kattam Laraki-Coté and Sadio Sissokho. It was through his work with Sadio Sissokho that he met and later studied with Trevor John Ferrier.

In 2009, he was captivated by the sanza, during a show of Mafrica. The study of the sanza became his passion and, since June 2011, François has worked intensively with sanza player and composer, Trevor John Ferrier.

Julie-Anne Ricard

Julie-Anne Ricard's musical journey began in her early childhood, learning piano and taking singing lessons. As a teenager, she studied brass instruments and performed in choirs and instrumental ensembles. After studying classical music in college, Julie-Anne discovered the fascinating world of African percussion.

In 2010, she began learning the djembe with Martin Goulet in his school Sultanosto, and she travelled to Senegal to learn the djembe and the doundouns with Tapha Sadio and Ibou Seydi in 2012. She has been performing with the African percussion ensemble, SiLimbo since 2012.

As a member of Unda, under the direction of Rachel Stevenson, Julie-Anne was able to explore the world of Afro-Cuban drumming and singing and add to her knowledge of doun douns, playing with Pascal Gaudette. Her interest in the Mande griot vocal style and her passion for playing the calabash led her to join with Sadio, Trevor and Francois in the creation of Sanza Percussions et Sadio Sissokho.