Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou has died at the age of 99.
Born on December 12, 1923, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia she joined the Guishen Mariam monastery in Ethiopia’s Wello province at age 19, after the Ethiopian government refused to allow her to study music in London.
She composed for violin, piano, and organ; she found inspiration from classical and liturgical canons along with popular Western styles like blues and ragtime and was a true original.
Her first album came out in 1967, and all proceeds went to young, impoverished people in her community who were seeking an education.
All her subsequent albums were used toraise money for charitable causes, focusing on aid to Ethiopian children orphaned by war.
Guèbrou relocated to the Ethiopian Monastery in Jerusalem in 1984 after the death of her mother, and she remained there for the rest of her life.
In 2007 her family members helped establish the Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation, which is still active today
There are not many videos of her, although a documentary, Labyrinth of belonging, is being made. Here is the trailer:
Her she is reciting a poem and making a brief appearance.
Born on December 12, 1923, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia she joined the Guishen Mariam monastery in Ethiopia’s Wello province at age 19, after the Ethiopian government refused to allow her to study music in London.
She composed for violin, piano, and organ; she found inspiration from classical and liturgical canons along with popular Western styles like blues and ragtime and was a true original.
Her first album came out in 1967, and all proceeds went to young, impoverished people in her community who were seeking an education.
All her subsequent albums were used toraise money for charitable causes, focusing on aid to Ethiopian children orphaned by war.
Guèbrou relocated to the Ethiopian Monastery in Jerusalem in 1984 after the death of her mother, and she remained there for the rest of her life.
In 2007 her family members helped establish the Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation, which is still active today
There are not many videos of her, although a documentary, Labyrinth of belonging, is being made. Here is the trailer:
Her she is reciting a poem and making a brief appearance.
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