Nyttu Chongo brings sounds of Africa to the Ordway

When audience members settle into their seats at the Ordway Center on Friday night in St. Paul, musician Nyttu Chongo wants them to know they are meant to be there.

“The people that will buy a ticket, it’s because their own ancestors invited them,” said Chongo, who will lead an ensemble in music from his 2021 album, Libandzuwa, as well as new works that night. “We are just a vessel to deliver the music. Nothing is by chance.”

That music will combine traditional African instruments such as the mbira and kora with traditional Western string instruments such as the violin and cello. Chongo, who composed all the music, calls this fusion Jazz Bantu.

“It means freedom; it means letting your soul speak,” he says of the musical style.

The concert’s title, “Phulani,” translates to “open” in Changana, the language of Chongo’s native Mozambique. He elaborates on his chosen theme.

“‘Open’ means: Open your heart. Open your ears. Open your eyes. Open your mouth, spirit, soul to what your ancestors are saying to you,” Chongo says. “Most of the time, we find ourselves in struggle because we are not using wisdom, are not open to what grandma has to tell you. Most of the time we are not paying attention.

“That’s the major idea of being open. Don’t be judgmental or have resentment. Open yourself, and things will happen.”

Chongo himself has opened his mind to the point where his music all appears to him in dreams.

“I don’t know how to write music in the concept of ‘American,’” he says. “I just sleep and I listen to someone, or myself, playing in the middle of the night. When I wake up, I have the melody written.”

Chongo’s lot in life was to be a shaman, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-grandfather. But he rebelled against this path.

“I hated the smell, mixing medicines, roots, animal skins,” he says. His mother, a teacher, said she would “negotiate with the ancestors” and allow him to practice healing in a different way, through music.

“I don’t call myself a musician,” he says. “It’s my mission, my purpose in life — like being a soldier.”

Or perhaps a teacher. Chongo participates in YourClassical MPR’s ClassNotes program, in which musicians visit classrooms all over the state to share the power of music. He performs with cellist Mikey Marget as the duo Heliopsis.

“I remember all of them,” he says about his three years of experiences in the schools. “I remember each class, each child, each teacher. That innocence, that honesty, that trust, that confidence, that energy that the kids give you as a musician — I cannot get tired of it.

“You feel like you’ve touched a soul. You’ve planted a seed. You leave the room flying. I cannot explain it. I love it. I love it.”

Chongo hopes the concertgoers at the Ordway this week leave the hall similarly exhilarated.

“For me, music is something profound. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you hear is music — even silence is a sound.

“Music is for healing, for peace. We need music to heal and then to come together.”

Event details

What: Nyttu Chongo presents “Phulani”
Where: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 26.
Tickets: $21.48-$37.96; use promo code MPR20 for a 20 percent discount.