A prominent Ethiopian composer who was also a nun has died in Jerusalem where she had lived reclusively in an Ethiopian monastery for nearly 40 years
A prominent Ethiopian composer who was also a nun has died in Jerusalem where she had lived reclusively in an Ethiopian monastery for nearly 40 years.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou was 99.
Often referred to as “the piano queen”, she was ordained as a nun aged 21 and was among Ethiopia’s first classical pianists.
Her first record was released in the mid 1960s when Ethiopia had a thriving jazz and classical music scene.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou achieved global fame in 2006 when her music featured in albums of Ethiopian music from previous decades.
The Homeless Wanderer and The Mad Man’s Laughter are among her well known compositions.
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