Photos: courtesy of Jed Hoile

Djemboree is a yearly event, where djembe and dundun drummers with some experience gather to learn, play together and celebrate. It features daytime drumming workshops, plus end of day group performances (one day with each teacher), plus the ‘Saturday Night Spectacular’, at a nearby venue.

More information will be posted soon, but please make sure you have these 3 days marked in your calendar for DJEMBOREE 2026:

14th – 16th August
Royal Grammar School
Amersham Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 6QT

The levels of daytime workshop are:

INTERMEDIATE:
You play regularly, are confident with a number of different accompaniment patterns (including “populaire / passport”) and are used to learning solo phrases and breaks, able to play these competently with a group.

ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE;
You have experienced a variety of rhythms with different calls and timings and can play from memory a number of solo phrases (including fast rolls) and breaks in time with a group. You can respond confidently to calls and are beginning to expand your knowledge of the different types of rhythms.

ADVANCED:
You are confident playing complex phrases on your own, can place calls correctly against the dundun patterns and have a wide knowledge of the different types of rhythms, including dununba. Slap and tone notes can be clearly identified when playing challenging phrases such as tone / slap flams with alternating hands.

The vastly talented and experienced teachers are:

BILLY KONATE
was born in Conakry/Guinea, the son of the great drum master Famoudou Konaté. At the age of 7, Billy was already playing the traditional music of the Malinke with his father and continued to be trained by him for years at the traditional festivals of the Malinke.  Billy moved to Germany in 2005 and has become an internationally highly respected teacher and musician. We are delighted that he is with us this year again too!
www.billykonate.com
www.facebook.com/billy.konate.9

SIDIKI DEMBELE
is originally from Ivory Coast and has been living in the UK since 2008. With griot family lineage, Sidiki is a virtuoso musician of djembe, dundun, djely ngoni, kamale ngoni and calabash. His many accolades include a recent USA and Canada tour with Abel Selaocoe, Chesaba and the Manchester Collective and several appearances on BBC CBeebies! Despite being so busy with many diverse collaborations and projects, Sidiki remains dedicated to sharing the djembe and dundun tradition in his energetic classes.
sidikidjembe.org
www.facebook.com/dembele.sidiki
www.facebook.com/sidiki.mandenka

IYA SAKO
(Mory Sako) brings us the purity of village style traditional Guinean Malinke drumming. A UK resident since 2007, Iya’s gentle teaching style whilst often pushing us to our physical limits (we get a work out!) are just a few of the reasons why he is such a popular teacher. “Iya has an immense wealth of cultural history stored in his hands and he takes immense pleasure and pride in sharing that culture with drumming students. He is the most modest of people, an incredible djembe player and a passionate and patient teacher.”
www.facebook.com/iyasakodjembe

The ‘Saturday Night Spectacular’ is held at:
The Dashwood Roadhouse
Old Oxford Road, Piddington, High Wycombe, HP14 3BH
Tickets include:
A featured musician and outdoor performance by the above amazing teachers!
A big platter of delicious food!
Bursts of fun and lively dancing!
A chance to relax and unwind with friendly company!

Please get in touch via email for more information or to express your interest!