Congolese pianist and composer Ray Lema will perform with his quintet at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) on September 11 as part of the opening program for Not All Travellers Walk Roads—Of Humanity as Practice, the Berlin edition of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo.
Lema first studied organ at a Catholic seminary before he took up guitar during his university years in Kinshasa. Piano later became his principal instrument. His work has since combined elements of western classical music, samba, Afrobeat and jazz with rhythmic traditions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Born in western Congo, Lema spent more than three decades outside his home country, with periods in Washington, Brussels, and Paris. His piano style incorporates techniques associated with sebene, the instrumental section of Congolese rumba that relies on repeated rhythmic and melodic phrases.
The Ray Lema Quintet concert is scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. in HKW’s Miriam Makeba Auditorium. Admission is free.
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin
More information: https://www.hkw.de/en
(headline image: Ray Lema – Photo by Olivier Hoffschir)
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central