Recently a captivating sound has been filling the halls of the DuFresne Performing Arts Center on campus. It is that time of year again for the International Music Series.

The Winona State University Department of Music hosts an international music series every year in the fall. Each part of the series is a concert performed by an artist with a different cultural background.

Two international musicians have performed so far, Lyz Jaakola, an Anishinaabe musician and Sowah Mensah, an African “Master Drummer”. There are two more concerts yet this season. The next one will be held on Thursday, Nov. 10 by Nirmala Rajasekar, a premier Saraswathi veena player. Then Gao Hong, a Chinese pipa player, will perform on Thursday, Nov. 17.

“The series dives into these various music cultures, we have a culture barrier to perform and talk,” Aaron Lohmeyer, Winona State music education coordinator, said. “It is looking into how the performer thinks.”

Mensah performed on Sept. 29. Mensah is an ethnomusicologist and composer at Macalester College and the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul where he directs each school’s African Music Ensemble. Mensah is originally from Ghana, West Africa, and has taught music in Nigeria as well.

Mensah has been performing for the International Music Series since the very first one twenty years ago. Mensah has performed extensively in the United States, the Latin Americas, Asia and Europe. In the United States, Mensah has performed in 48 states, he has yet to perform in North Carolina and Missouri. Mensah is also an accomplished composer with three albums under his belt: “Naa-Niami”, “Ntoa” and “Sii Sii Sii”.

Mensah typically brings his sons and daughter to perform with him on his travels around the world. Mensah is exceptionally accomplished in the African drumming world, he has even earned himself the title “Master Drummer”. The title “Master Drummer” is given to a drummer who is well known by other masters for their high skill and knowledge about drumming and the traditions. This is a passed down title after they have learned all there is to know about the African drum.

“Isn’t it so cool how it sounds different and how we define beauty, what we take as black and white perhaps in our own culture, then we see other cultures and how they define beauty in their own terms,” Lohmeyer said.

The International Music Series is an opportunity for people to dive into cultural differences through music. These concerts are open and free to Winona State students and the public. For more information about the International Music Series, visit www.visitwinona.com.