Su Hart
Su Hart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 September 1959 Gateshead, England |
| Genres | English folk, worldbeat |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, songwriter, teacher, painter |
| Instrument(s) | Voice, guitar, |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Su Hart (born 3 September 1959) is a British choir leader, singer-songwriter and composer, as of 2006[update] based in Bath, UK, and vocalist of the band Baka Beyond. Baka Beyond was formed in 1992, when she and her partner, Martin Cradick travelled to south-east Cameroon to live with the Baka tribe in the rainforest and record their music. Hart founded the Walcot State Choir in Bath, and helped run the Shakti Sings Choir at the Glastonbury Festival in 2013.
The Baka
[edit]Hart is originally from Gateshead, and is a musician, choir leader, singer-songwriter and composer.[1][2] In 1992, Hart and her partner Martin Cradick (formerly of the group Outback) travelled to south-east Cameroon to live with the Baka tribe (hunter-gatherer Pygmies) in the rainforest and record their music. The band was inspired by the Baka,[3] "one of the oldest and most sensitive musical cultures on earth". The encounter with the Baka was to set their lives in a new direction.[2] "It was the amazing bird-like singing or 'yelli' that first attracted me, ... The women get together before the dawn to sing, enchant the animals of the forest and ensure that the men's hunting will be successful. Song and dance are used by the Baka for healing, for rituals, for keeping the community together and also for pure fun"[3][1] In 2006 Hart helped to bring the Cameroonian band Orchestre Baka Gbine to Gateshead.[1]
Hart founded the Walcot State Choir in Bath in 2000 and has directed it since.[4] The choir has collaborated in cultural exchanges with the Ensemble Vocal Maitres Et Maitresses of Auch, France, and choirs in Kaposvar, which is twinned with Bath.[5]
In 2013, Hart helped to run the Shakti Sings Choir at the Glastonbury Festival, writing songs to raise ecological awareness.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Who are the Baka Pygmies? And what are they doing in Gateshead?". BBC Tyne. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b "Baka Beyond: a unique musical collaboration". Radio New Zealand. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ a b "BAKA BEYOND (Portugal & Spain)". virtualWOMEX. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Walcot State Choir - A bit about us ..." walcotstatechoir.com. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Mayor of Bath". mayorofbath.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Su Hart". suhart.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Shakti Sings". shaktisings.org. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2025.