Afro Classical Nights hold its final 2021 edition on Friday, 17th December, 2021 at the Ghana Club.
The bi-monthly classical and art music recital show aims at recreating the casual experience of classical music that was once common in the history of the genre’s development in Europe and the Americas.
The founder of Afro Classical Nights Jesse Jojo Johnson in an interview ahead of the Christmas concert called for composers and classical musicians to celebrate themselves and have fun, as “no one is your best advocate than yourself”.
He challenged musicians to “explore more forms and challenging pieces” since most compositions are choral, thereby making it limited.
“I think what Ghanaian composers should do is to continue with whatever they are doing because a lot of Ghanaian music can be written,” he added.
Mr Johnson, who doubles as the founder of Choral Music Ghana explained that to amplify the works of Ghanaian composers, there should “be a deliberate effort by composers to fight against being forgotten, and then the community will react to the positive energy. Also, there can be institutional support from the government, among others, but personally, I think those things are more reactive; they see something and jump on it. So it’s things like Afro Classical Nights that will put Ghanaian compositions out there for the public to respond positively.“
Michael Amoah, a flutist who performed Vivaldi’s “The Goldfinch” concerto (Flute Concerto op 10 n 3) with the Ruotolo String Quartet in the last event, commended the initiative as it serves as a “good place for young musicians and any other person who aspires to do music to showcase their skills and worth.”
In his concluding remarks, Mr Johnson entreated musicians to utilize the platform created by Afro Classical Music as it is “created by musicians for musicians and funded by musicians.”
If Ghanaian composers embed themselves in the global community of classical music, then “the institutional progression will pick them up naturally,” he added.
The upcoming event will be hosting a number of musicians who will either be performing solo or in an ensemble on classical instruments. Also, some exceptional singers will be performing from their repertoire.
Among the personalities billed for the night is Simon Brako Akowua who will be performing ‘Andante In C K.315 – W. A. Mozart’.
Presley Joe Black will focus on ‘Adagio Sostenuto from Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia’, ‘Op 27 no 2 in C#minor. – L. Beethoven’ and Bagatelle no. 25, WoO 59 in A minor. – L. Beethoven’, ‘Adagio Cantabile from Sonata no. 8 in C minor, Op 13 in Ab major. – L. Beethoven’ and ‘Rondo Allegro from Sonata no. 8 in C minor, Op 13 in Ab major. – L. Beethoven’.
Also, Samuel Ackon will be performing the ‘Che faro Senza Eurydice by Christoph W. Gluck’ while Dove Sei plays the ‘G F Handel’.
Emmanuel Azoumaro plays ‘Sonata in F minor, K.466, L118 – Domenico Scarlatti’ and ‘Waltz in A minor, B. 150 Op. Posth – Frederick Chopin’.
Other performers such as Jemima Sackey executes two pieces ‘Clementi Sonatina Op. 36, No. 1 Andante – Clementi’ and ‘Senyiwa by George Mensah Essilfie’.
Calvin Gyasi does the ‘Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves) – Ezra Jenkinson’ and Music Director of Afro Classical Nights Kwaku Boakye-Frempong focuses on ‘4’33 – John Cage’ and his personal composition ‘Anansesem’.
While Samuel Ackon ends with ‘The Christmas Song by Mel Torme & Robert Wells’
This year’s Afro Classical Nights occurred on June 25th, August 27th, October 29th with the upcoming concert scheduled on December 17th.
About Afro Classical Night
“Afro Classical Nights” is a bi-monthly classical and art music recital show aimed at recreating the casual experience of classical music that was once common in the history of the genre’s development in Europe and the Americas.
It is the flagship event of Choral Music Ghana, a musical arts and culture non-profit with a mission to present the best of Ghanaian art music to the rest of the world.
The project also provides an avenue for many brilliant Ghanaian classical musicians to showcase their musicianship to a live local audience and a global audience over the Internet. The project is biased towards increasing the audiences’ appreciation of classical music. It is designed towards achieving that end.
“Afro Classical Nights” was conceived by Jesse Jojo Johnson, founder of Choral Music Ghana in 2018 and first hosted by Presley Joe Black, a jazz and classical pianist. The need to improve the appreciation of classical music by providing a platform that guaranteed regular public performances without significant overheads drove them to pursue this pioneering approach to event organizing.
