Tanaka Chikati '25 in Vienna World Music Festival Lineup

Percussionist, music major, and gwenyambira (that's Shona for "master mbira player") Tanaka Chikati '25 will take the stage for a solo performance at the 2025 Sababu Festival in Vienna. The annual world music festival runs from April 17 to 20 this year, and Chikati's set is scheduled for Friday, April 18, at 8 p.m. Central European Time at Vienna's Porgy & Bess Jazz Club.

The festival celebrates the musical cultures of immigrant Austrians, particularly musicians from Africa and the African diaspora in South America. Its founder and organizer is Burkinabé balafon master Mamadou Diabaté—no stranger to Dartmouth's music department, Diabaté is a co-instructor with Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music Theodore Levin and linguist Laura McPherson for MUS 17.06: The Language-Music Connection (next offered in fall 2025) and his Austrian-African ensemble Percussion Mania has performed frequently on campus.

Chikati, a music major from Harare, Zimbabwe, and a member of the Coast Jazz Orchestra, specializes in traditional Shona mbira and contemporary Afro-pop songwriting as well as exploring jazz and free improvisation. Performing under the name "SunniChi," she released her debut Afro-pop EP, Midzi, in 2023.

Live streaming for the concert featuring Chikati on April 18 is available on a pay-what-you-want basis on the festival venue's site.