Pan-African Youth Orchestra (PAYO)

About us

The Pan-African Youth Orchestra (PAYO) was established in 1995 as an offshoot of the Pan-African Orchestra (PAO) to explore the classical foundations of African music. The orchestra comprises young talented instrumentalists auditioned from various regions in Ghana. Members of PAYO represent at least one major ethnic group which to a large extent fosters national integration; one of our main objectives of putting Africa under one umbrella through our music.

Instrumentation

The instruments of the orchestra are selected from diverse indigenous musical cultures of Africa.

Repertoire

The orchestra’s repertoire includes compositions by the renowned composer and music educator, Nana Danso Abiam, whose works are a clear illustration of qualitative developments taking place within the past forty years in African music composition history. His conception and realization of the Pan-African Orchestra in 1988, combining for the first time, traditional instruments from differing ethnic societies on the continent, is still a novelty far ahead of its time.

What we do

We organize concerts of neo-classical African music, ranging from solo recitals to large scale works, workshops as well as lecture performances for schools and communities. We bring information and direct assistance to artistes and organizations in Ghana and beyond. Under the direction of Kweku Kwakye, PAYO’s instructors are accomplished musicians and performers ready to make their services and facilities accessible to all.