Ghanaian music scholar Kofi Gbolonyo leads upbeat Celebrate Africa! event at BlueShore at CapU, January 30
Long-time UBC and CapU faculty member puts on a show featuring dozens of local musicians, plus vocalists Dawn Pemberton and Khari McClelland
Kofi Gbolonyo. Photo by Curtis Andrews
The BlueShore at CapU presents Celebrate Africa! on January 30 at 7:30 pm
ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST KOFI GBOLONYO, who hails from Ghana, has been teaching students about traditional West African music and dance for decades.
On top of being a long-time faculty member at both the University of British Columbia and Capilano University, he is the founding director of Adanu Habobo, a semi-professional West African music and dance ensemble, and the Nunya Academy, a school in Ghana that offers a music-training program for children. He’s trained to teach in both English and Ewe, a tonal language spoken in southeastern Ghana.
With his comprehensive background, Gbolonyo is the perfect man to lead an upbeat event called Celebrate Africa! at the BlueShore at CapU on January 30, featuring the university’s own African Drum & Dance Ensemble—which he founded—plus the jazz program’s C Band and Percussion Ensemble. The young musicians will be joined by a selection of established artists such as powerhouse vocalist Dawn Pemberton, whose sound journeys from gospel and soul to jazz, funk, and world music; and singer-songwriter Khari McClelland of local roots-gospel trio the Sojourners. Also performing is pan-African drummer Albert St. Albert Smith, who taught music at SFU for many years before his retirement.
Last year’s edition of Celebrate Africa! was a sold-out success, with arrangements of traditional music and dance from a wide variety of the continent’s regions. The upcoming evening show will be filled with similarly spirited drum rhythms and passionate performers.
Celebrate Africa! starts at 7:30 pm—and bring your dancing shoes, because audience participation is encouraged. Check out the video below for a sneak peek at all the ways folks can join in on the fun. 
Related Articles
