Ha Orchestra

As the first professional African Symphonic Orchestra in Scotland and the UK, Ha orchestra is a melting pot of musical experiences from the various regions of Africa and its Diaspora. It taps into the vast unexplored treasure of music as a cultural experience of value.Founded by Dr. Gameli Tordzro in 2014, the Orchestra appeared at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Cultural programme Festival 2014, playing major venues including Kelvingrove Band Stand, Glasgow Green, The Merchants Square and BBC Scotland - BBC at The Quay.

Ha Orchestra headlined the 2016 edition of Solas Festival in Scotland and in the same year, featured at the KLM’s Inverness- Amsterdam Route Launch as well as in the Inaugural lecture of University of Glasgow’s new UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration Through Languages and the Arts in 2017.

Ha Orchestra is a demonstration and example of the opportunities migration can present to society. African musicians and the musical instruments they play rarely come together from the different subregions of the continent due to the sheer size of Africa and the fact that the transportation infrastructure does not support easy movement of people across the continent. However, having migrated to various parts of Europe, African musicians have brought their instruments into closer proximity in the diaspora than they have ever been on the African continent.

Ha Orchestra is a successful experiment by Dr Gameli Tordzro. He has used the opportunity to bring musicians, their instruments and his compositions together in a way that captures the enrichment created of new symphonic sounds, orchestrated from the experiences that originate from different cultural heritages interacting and influencing each other. The orchestra is a growing project turning five years in June 2019. We want to celebrate with as many people across the world as possible and to continue enriching the hearts of all people. We welcome invitations to festivals, conferences live and recorded broadcasts, and to any event that celebrates and enriches people anywhere in the world. We are keen to visit Asia, all the subregions of Africa, the Middle East, The Americas to share, collaborate and learn.

The orchestra’s musicians are from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Belgium, Scotland, England, Denmark, and France. Their instruments include the Kora, Ngoni, Gimbre, Krakab, Axatse, Gakogui, Seprewa, Sogo, Apentema, Kpanlogo, Atumpani, Fontonfrom, Dondo, Endingidi, Goje, Bolong, Atenteben Flute, the orchestral Flute and the Ego Calabash Gourd.