Ghana’s PedalPoint Institute to host ‘piano hub’ workshop

Dubbed ‘Piano Hub GH’, the event will provide free tutorials and an opportunity for networking with established piano players in the country.

The focus is on community. According to the organisers, Piano Hub GH will be structured like a “music village that houses piano players together for the benefit of music lessons, interaction and networking," adding: "We believe that the piano is the mother of all of the various instruments and contributes a lot to one’s ability in critical thinking and analysis."

Leading the team of facilitators is the songwriter and keyboardist Bessa Simons, who has worked with many prominent names in African music, including Pat Thomas, Papa Yankson, Kari Bannerman, Osibisa, C.K.Man, Ebo Taylor and Gyedu Blay Ambolley. In 1992, Bessa formed his own band, The Bessa Band, which toured Europe and staged a memorable Ghanaian tour in 1994.

Also among the facilitators, chosen "based on their meritorious works and achievement," are Charles Duwor, Redcap, Eric Antonio and Isaac Aryee, as well as others.

The Piano Hub GH workshop is undertaken in partnership with Virtual Sound Laboratory. It will take place at the Virtual Sound Lab (see here for directions) between 3pm and 6pm. The event is free. Musicians interested in participating do not need to apply beforehand, they simply need to show up.

The upcoming event comes after the institute’s earlier initiative to train inmates in Ghanaian prisons in December 2015, which aimed to empower and equip the inmates both “technically and spiritually”.

For more information visit the PedalPoint website.