Musical Sentinels of the Ethiopian American Diaspora
Wherever they settled, Ethiopian musicians brought music and community together.
Liqa Mezemran [Leader of the Musicians] Moges Seyoum
Moges Seyoum in traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Christian liturgical dress. Courtesy of Marilyn E. Heldman
Trained from childhood as a musician in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Moges Seyoum left Ethiopia in 1970 for studies of theology and law in Greece. Stranded abroad at the revolution’s start, Moges remained in Greece until he received asylum in the United States in 1982. There he joined a friend in Dallas, Texas with whom he founded an Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and in 1989 moved to Washington, DC, where he helped found Qeddus Maryam Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the largest churches in the Ethiopian diaspora.
Moges Seyoum (second from back on right side) leading liturgical performance during the tabot (altar tablets) procession at Qeddus Maryam Church. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
In Washington, Moges assumed the title Liqa Mezemran, which recognized his accomplishments as both a liturgist and musician. Over the last thirty years, Moges Seyoum has led the liturgy at Qeddus Maryam Church; voluntarily held weekly classes to teach congregants to perform important portions of the Ethiopian Orthodox ritual; and arranged chants for members of his church to perform at community events and festivals.
Saint Yared is so transported by the sound of his own chant that he does not realize that Emperor Gebre Masqal’s spear has accidentally pierced and wounded his foot. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
Moges has also written books on Ethiopian musical notation and the life of Saint Yared, the founder of Ethiopian liturgy and its music, and recorded portions of the chant on CD for use by Ethiopian churches across the diaspora. In 2008, Moges Seyoum received the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship for his leadership in performing and transmitting the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian liturgy in the United States.
This video of the joyous singing of hymns at Qeddus Maryam Ethiopian Church includes singing by deacons and members of the congregation, dancing, drumming, clapping, and ululation by the women.
Telela Kebede, the First Lady of Ethiopian Song
Telela Kebede enjoying an evening in a local Ethiopian restaurant with musicians she mentored. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
Born in 1938, Telela Kebede was a versatile singer and actress of the Ethiopian National Theatre who crossed over between traditional and popular musical styles. Considered by many to be “the first modern singer of her nation,” Telela was arrested and imprisoned for three months for singing a controversial song at the start of the 1974 revolution. Despite her eventual return to the National Theatre, her continued political activism on behalf of human rights left her under house arrest for lengthy periods of time during the revolution and she eventually sought asylum in the United States in 2003. In the diaspora, Telela mentored many young immigrant Ethiopian musicians, reissued some of her famous recordings, and served as a role model for Ethiopian musicians across traditional and popular styles. Telela Kebede died in Maryland in 2021.
The young Telela Kebede performing the song "Alemiye" (“My World”).
Tesfaye Lemma, Leader of Orchestra Ethiopia and Ethiopian Cultural Life
Tesfaye Lemma (far right) and Orchestra Ethiopia pose together following an audience with Emperor Haile Selassie (not pictured) on their return from a 1969 concert tour to the United States and a televised appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Accomplished jazz musician, Peace Corps volunteer, and Harvard College graduate Charles Sutton, who organized the American tour and also performed with the orchestra on the one-stringed bowed masenqo, is seen in the photograph wearing traditional Ethiopian dress standing next to Tesfaye. Courtesy of Charles Sutton
In 1966, twenty-year-old Tesfaye Lemma became the conductor of Orchestra Ethiopia. A recently founded instrumental, vocal, and dance ensemble in residence at the then-Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa, the orchestra was made up of musicians from many different ethnic and regional Ethiopian musical traditions. Tesfaye composed pieces for the orchestra to perform and introduced many innovations in the orchestra’s musical style. The orchestra was well known and toured the eastern United States under US Peace Corps sponsorship in 1969, but disbanded due to revolutionary political and financial pressures in 1975.
Tesfaye Lemma (center) deposited his large collection of Ethiopian music recordings at the Library of Congress with the assistance of archivist Michael Taft (left) and friend Charles Sutton (right). Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
Tesfaye led other ensembles in Addis Ababa through the mid-1980s. In 1987, he became director of the Ethiopian Folk Dance and Music Ensemble sent by the Ethiopian regime to tour internationally and to thank countries abroad for their aid during severe famines of the earlier 1980s. While in Washington, DC for performances, Tesfaye Lemma defected and received asylum in the United States.
Performers who were veterans of the Nile Ethiopian Ensemble performed regularly until the pandemic at restaurants in the Washington Metropolitan area, including at Dukem on U Street. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
After spending several years working as a parking lot attendant and usher at the Kennedy Center, Tesfaye produced a diaspora musical show that was profitable enough to enable him in 1994 to found the Center for Ethiopian Art and Culture in Washington, DC as well as the Nile Ethiopian Ensemble, an American version of Orchestra Ethiopia. Both the Center and the ensemble closed in 1999 due to Tesfaye’s illness and financial pressures; Tesfaye Lemma died in Washington, DC in 2013.
Orchestra Ethiopia performing the song “Mamitanna Kebede” (“Mamite and Kebede”); a llght, flirtatious song between two vocalists.
Selam Seyoum Woldemariam, Virtuoso Guitarist and Musical Leader
Virtuoso guitar player Selam (Selamino) performs both with ensembles and as a soloist. Courtesy of Selam (Selamino) Seyoum Woldemariam
Eritrean guitarist Selam “Selamino” Seyoum Woldemariam managed to live throughout the revolution as a leader of newly founded popular bands that performed in Addis Ababa hotels for audiences who spent the entire night there during curfews. Perhaps most widely appreciated for his virtuoso work with the Roha Band that performed at the Addis Ababa Hilton throughout the 1980s, Selamino established a successful life as a musician while also opening two record shops in the Ethiopian capital. But in May 1998, a border war broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia. A month later, Eritreans living in Ethiopia were abruptly arrested and deported. After spending a year with his mother in (by then) independent Eritrea, Selam made his way to Italy, where he applied for asylum in the United States. Eventually he settled in Washington, DC where he started a real estate business. Over the years, Selam played an active role in the diaspora musical community, bringing together musicians from the Washington, DC metropolitan area for regular, informal lunches, actively supporting older colleagues such as Tesfaye Lemma, and helping young musicians break into the musical mainstream. In 2000, Selam resumed his career as a guitarist, performing widely and publishing recordings such as the album Grace.
“Adergna” by Selam “Selamino” Seyoum.
Meklit Hadero‘s Sonic Homelands
Meklit’s 2017 album cover for When the People Move, the Music Moves Too displays her attachment to her different sonic homelands, America and Ethiopia. Courtesy of Meklit Hadero and Six Degrees Records; Photograph by John Nilsen
Meklit Hadero meets with a class at Harvard University during her spring 2019 residency with the Department of Music and the Office for the Arts. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
Meklit Hadero was born in Ethiopia in 1980 and arrived in the United States with her family when they received asylum in 1982. She lived in Iowa, New York, and Florida, and settled in the San Francisco Bay area in 2004, a few years after graduating from Yale University. A singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Meklit composes and performs in styles ranging from jazz to rock to folk, insisting that one does not have to choose a single style, especially as a musician raised with multiple “sonic homelands.” Beyond her active recording and performing career—with six albums published—Meklit has founded several cultural organizations, including the Arba Minch Collective, a network of multidisciplinary artists from the Ethiopian diaspora living in North America. She cofounded the Nile Project Collective which brought together musicians from eleven Nile countries to collaborate on cultural and environmental projects.
"Kemekem (I Like Your Afro)" by Meklit, featuring Samuel Yirga. Meklit’s music video was named a Top 15 African Music Video of 2015 by Okayafrica.
Sentinel Musicians and Their Creativity in the Ethiopian American Diaspora
Ethiopian American Masqal (Celebration of the True Cross) observance at Riverside Park, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The community sings hymns and drums as they gather around a replica of a bonfire traditionally lit at sunset on the holiday. In the diaspora, where bonfires are forbidden in most urban American communities, the bonfire is made of cloth that reflects the light of the setting sun. Some of the congregants hold sparklers, in effect symbolizing the bonfire. Courtesy of Kay K. Shelemay
In this StoryMap, we have learned about the lives and music of a handful of musicians from Ethiopia of different ages, backgrounds, and repertoires. All share aspects of their Ethiopian pasts, including the impact of revolution, forced migration, and the processes of building new lives in the Ethiopian American diaspora. Yet despite struggles to maintain their musical careers amidst challenges of exile and resettlement, each has exhibited a powerful commitment to supporting their communities through their musical activities and activism. Each has acted as a “sentinel musician,” exercising creativity to sustain both their musical traditions as well as the newly founded diaspora communities of which they are a part. The impact of sentinel musicians can be felt in all domains of Ethiopian diasporic life, as they creatively mount longtime rituals in new ways; perform familiar musical styles in new settings for new audiences; and guide others along ever-challenging pathways.
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The Diasporic Pathways
Zoom in and out to see the pathways of the musicians featured in this StoryMap.
