A VIRTUOSO kora player is playing Buckland Newton Village Hall this week.

Modou Ndiaye and his band will perform at the rural venue near Dorchester on Friday at 7.30pm.

Fresh from concerts at Exeter Phoenix and the Chapel Arts Centre in Bath, kora player Modou Ndiaye and his acclaimed band of musicians are set to launch the brand new Artsreach summer season with three performances for the county’s touring arts charity this May.

Modou Ndiaye, aka Mamadou Ndiaye Cissokho, brother of Seckou Keita, is a virtuoso kora player, songwriter, drummer and percussionist, and a member of the famous Cissokho family of Griot musicians from Southern Senegal. With a superb repertoire of rhythms, Modou fuses together modern and traditional beats, playing a variety of West African instruments including his leading instrument, the mesmerising 22 stringed Kora, a West African harp.

Often in demand for both TV and film, Modou’s music can be heard in the soundtrack of the 2006 blockbuster Blood Diamond and was also featured on the award-winning Channel 4 TV series Skins.

Modod and the band will also be playing live in Wootton Fitzpaine near Lyme Regis (01297 560948) on Thursday, Buckland Newton (01300 345455) near Dorchester on Friday and Shillingstone (07870 972089) near Blandford on Saturday. Tickets and further information are also available via www.artsreach.co.uk