The PERCUSSIVE ARTS world comes to the Rock with a vibrant program blending Western chamber music and global rhythms from Africa. Highlights include music for the Gyil xylophone from Ghana and a rare opportunity to experience the monumental Embaire, a massive wooden log xylophone and one of only a handful found outside Uganda.

The large embaire is a twenty-one key xylophone from Busoga, Uganda. Large slabs of wood are suspended over a hole in the ground and played with both hands and sticks to produce a wide range of sounds. Six musicians play the instrument simultaneously, creating interlocking tonebanks, resultant melodies, and dance rhythms.