The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Wexner Center for the Arts will welcome a variety of musicians to Columbus to perform Hannibal Lokumbe’s “African Portraits” this weekend.

“African Portraits” is a 60 minute oratorio that tells the story of the black experience through music. The story takes the listener from the shores of the African continent to the auction block, from the emancipation to the hard-won battles of the Civil Rights Movement, said Teri Alexander, spokeswoman for the CSO.

Bringing the experience to life through the magic of sound would seem like a daunting task — but a task well suited for its talented creator Hannibal Lokumbe. The orchestra will welcome Christopher Wilkins as guest conductor. Lokumbe will perform his part on the trumpet.

Lokumbe’s love of music began early in his childhood when he heard his grandparents singing while working in the cotton fields, he said. A love of nature also inspires his music.

“The sky was my great friend and all of the magic that happens in the sky — the clouds, the rain, the lightning — and so when I play, I still try to emulate many of those sounds and many of those feelings,” Lokumbe said.

He started out with simple elements to form the backbone of the composition.

“It begins in Africa with the drum and all of the culture that surrounds the drum,” Lokumbe said. “The culture of Africa, for the most part, can be told in the drum — if people have ears to hear it. So I began with the drum.”

While in Columbus, Lokumbe visited schools to speak with children about their heritage. Amy Polovick, a dance teacher at Duxberry Elementary School, was pleased with his impact on the students.

“I’ve noticed that his coming and doing ‘African Portraits’ is just one small piece of what he is doing here in Columbus because he is bringing together so many people. He’s starting to get people together, and thinking about their own heritage, and it will continue after he leaves because he is just here to plant a seed with all of us,” Polovick said. The message is that young people should not allow others to define them, Lokumbe said.

Audiences can expect a powerful depiction of the journey of blacks from Africa to America from the piece, Alexander said.

“It’s one hour for you and I to sit down and watch it, but it is 14 years of work for him. Meaning it’s 14 years of thoughts and feelings, and it’s a depiction of his passion and love,” she said.

The impact of the slave trade can still be felt in American society, and the struggles that followed must not be forgotten, Lokumbe said.

“Once we deal with the truth of what really happened, then we can honestly make steps instead of making little Band-Aid steps,” Lokumbe said.

The Wexner Center and the CSO have worked together to bring the performance to Columbus.

“We’re interested in collaborating with other arts organizations when the opportunity arises. It so happened that ‘African Portraits’ is well suited for the Mershon Auditorium stage,” said Karen Simonian, spokeswoman for the Wexner Center.

“African Portraits” will be performed at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday in the Mershon Auditorium.