South African guitarist Derek Gripper transcribes songs from the kora, resulting in a unique sound.

Do musical instruments sing to each other in different languages? If you were to ask South African instrumentalist Derek Gripper, he’d probably respond with his guitar, but it would sound more like a kora – a gourd-like string instrument with a tone somewhere between a harp and a lute. Translation is what he’s after. Gripper, a classical guitarist, transcribes musical notes from the kora to his guitar, and the result is an astral projection of musical diversity.

Gripper plays at CSU Monterey Bay’s World Theater on Sunday, April 28. The free concert was arranged by Anthony Demers, a Pacific Grove-based classical guitarist and member of the Carmel Guitar Society.

“He ‘sings’ as he plays,” says Demers, describing Gripper’s fretwork as “expressing a lyrical voice through an instrument.”

Gripper’s inspiration, like his sound, is uniquely locked within his ear. In a sense, he continues to translate a language of sound for his audience, building upon each measure.

For Gripper, hearing Toumani Daibaté’s album Kaira was enough to inspire his work. Kaira, showcasing the kora, puts the picking of the instrument on full volume. And while the fast-paced picking can occur on the guitar, it is limited by the number of strings, meaning that it takes a profound awareness to achieve a similar resonance.

“My music is a dialogue between extremes,” says Gripper. “Oral tradition to written music, individual composition to collective memory, improvisation to recitation, early to contemporary, new to ancient.”

In the first decade of the 21st century, Gripper was performing primarily in South Africa. But everything changed for him after recording his 2012 album One Night on Earth. After its release, he was invited to perform with guitarist John Williams before beginning his first American tour. As London-based writer and filmmaker Simon Broughton puts it, “He’s opening a whole new repertoire of classical guitar music.”

Demers first heard Gripper on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series. Originally, he wanted to bring Gripper to the Pacific Grove Art Center, but quickly realized that the larger World Theater would be a better venue for this musical experience.

DEREK GRIPPER performs at 7pm Sunday, April 28 at the CSU Monterey Bay World Theater, 5260 6th Ave., Seaside. Free. derekgripper.com.