Orchestra thrills fans at concert
State withdraws case against Kofi Sammy, Faisal
Orchestra thrills fans at concert
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 May ’99
The Pan African Orchestra on Saturday night received a standing ovation from fans at a concert in Accra titled "See and Hear".
With their characteristic fast-paced rhythm that featured strong percussion, traditional flutes and xylophones, the PAO had the Ghanaian and expatriate audience on their feet for most of the time.
The group, which has in its 11-year history been experimenting with various types of African traditional musical implements to play unique neo-classical versions of African music, has performed at numerous local and international festivals.
Among their repertoire for the night was "Adawura Kasa", "Nii Sai", "Bani", re-compositions of four of the late Nigerian Fela Anikulapo Kuti's songs, and some selection from the PAO Opus One, their 1994 debut album which topped the US New World Music Charts for six weeks.
Mr Ebo Hawkson, deputy Chairman of the National Commission on Culture, described the PAO experience as an "appropriate experiment" for applying different instruments and rhythms to enrich the arts.
Mr. Philip Riley, Acting South African High Commissioner to Ghana, said if Africans channel their creativity into fruitful ventures and respect human rights, they could free themselves of the negative impression held about them by the international community.
GRi../
State withdraws case against Kofi Sammy, Faisal
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 May ’99
The state has withdrawn its case against Abrekyireba Kofi Sammy, musician, and Mr Faisal Helwani, music producer, for allegedly breaking into the offices of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and vandalising property, stealing documents and 352,000 cedis and 1,000 Swiss Francs belonging to the union.
The withdrawal of the case from the Circuit Tribunal was at the instance of Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) after an amicable settlement of the matter, a court official who declined identity said in an interview on Friday in Accra.
He said Nana Sarpong had indicated to the court about two months ago that the commission wanted to settle the matter amicably since all those involved are members of MUSIGA, and followed up with a letter on May 12.
Mr. Helwani, who is also a founding member of MUSIGA, and Abrekyireba Sammy accused the past executives of not rendering accounts for seven years and of their involvement in visa racketeering for fake musicians.
These confrontations between the Copyright Protection Committee (CPC) of which Mr. Helwani is the spokesman and the past executives culminated in the setting up of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) as directed by the Office of the President and the institution of a probe by the NCC.
At the end of the probe, the two were vindicated while the allegations against the former executives of the union were proven.
Even though the two appeared a few times before court, they were never asked to answer any charges until the case was amicably settled and withdrawn, the official added.
GRi../