| West African Drum and Dance Ensemble Presents the Music of the Ashanti Nation
November 9, 2006
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The ensemble performing at the Dagbe Center in Ghana last summer.
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Photo by Joe Galeota
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The Berklee West African Drum and Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Joe Galeota, associate professor of percussion, will pay tribute both in music and dance to the Ashanti people of Ghana, West Africa, with a concert at the Berklee Performance Center on Monday, November 20. The BPC is located at 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA, and is wheelchair accessible. Tickets are $5 for the general public ($1 for students day of the concert). For more information, please call the box office at 617-747-2261 or visit www.berkleebpc.com.
Special guest performers include Victor and Emmanuel Agbeli from Ghana, who will be presented with a special award of appreciation. Bill Banfield, Berklee professor of Africana Studies, will host the evening.
Emmanuel Agbeli and Victor Agbeli are both Ewe master drummers and dancers from the Volta region of Ghana, West Africa. They received drum and dance training from their father, Godwin Agbeli, who was the principal drummer for the Arts Council of Ghana Folkloric Company for many years, and founder of the Dagbe Cultural Center. Emmanuel and Victor have run the center, located in their rural hometown village, Kopeyia, since Godwin's passing in 1998. The center offers classes in traditional Ghanaian music and culture to individuals and groups from all over the world.
For the past ten years the Dagbe Center has provided a home for Berklee students to expand their world-view, an opportunity made possible by Galeota, a former student of Godwin's. The students performing in the concert had the opportunity to study with the Agbelis at the Dagbe Center this past summer. Says Galeota, "The three-week trip is a study abroad program I started for Berklee students. We live in various rural villages and learn their indigenous music and culture. It's a life changing experience every year."
The evening's program will pay tribute to the Ashanti legend of the Golden Stool. Somewhere in the maze of secret passages in the palace of King Otumfuo, rests the SUMSUM or soul of the Ashanti nation, the Golden Stool. As legend has it, around 300 years ago, a wise fetish priest named Anokye called together the Ashanti in an effort to unite. At his command, the Golden Stool slowly descended from the heavens and landed in the lap of the first Ashanti King, Osei Tutu. The unity that was forged then, today characterizes the proud people of the Ashanti nation.
For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:
Margot Edwards
Office of Public Information
(617) 747-2004
medwards@berklee.edu
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