Accra to host concert honouring choral music pioneer Ephraim Amu

The event, organised by the Ephraim Amu Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, will take place at the Osu Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Hall.

Performances will feature the Winneba Youth Choir, Ghanaian artist M.anifest, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Choir, Immanuel Congregation of Madina Choir, and the Paul Wiegrabe E.P. Church Nima Choir. The ensembles will perform under the direction of Dr Misonu Amu, daughter of Ephraim Amu, with accompaniment by Seva Ankuh-Quarcou.

Dr Ephraim Amu (1899–1995) was a Ghanaian composer, musicologist and educator whose work is regarded as foundational to the development of Ghanaian art music. He mentored several musicologists, including the late Prof J. H. Kwabena Nketia, who described Amu as the most influential figure in shaping the direction of contemporary Ghanaian art music.

Born in Peki Avetile in the Volta Region, Amu was the son of a traditional drummer and stool carver. Raised in a Christian household, he initially trained in Western harmony but later turned to indigenous African traditions in the late 1920s. He composed original works in Twi and Ewe, incorporating African rhythms and tonal patterns.

Amu’s music challenged colonial-era views that dismissed indigenous cultural practices as inferior. His works, often described as “quietly revolutionary,” encouraged Africans to embrace their identity and heritage at a time of rising nationalist sentiment. His biographer, Fred Agyemang, noted that while Amu’s aims were not overtly political, his music carried social and cultural implications during Ghana’s path to independence in 1957.

Nearly a decade after his death, his daughter, Dr Misonu Amu, helped establish the Ephraim Amu Foundation in 2004 to preserve and document his works. The upcoming concert is part of the foundation’s efforts to keep his legacy alive.