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Sounds of West Africa come to Eastern Sierra |
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
 The Kusun Ensemble, considered one of Ghana’s most innovative and powerful music and dance ensembles, will conduct a workshop in Independence Saturday afternoon and perform live in Bishop that evening. Photo courtesy Inyo Council for the Arts Special to The Inyo Register 5-15-2008 Returning to the wilds of the Eastern Sierra on Saturday are West African music and dance masters, the Kusun Ensemble.
The group will be performing a free workshop and concert sponsored by Inyo Council for the Arts and The James Irvine Foundation.
According to Inyo Council for the Arts, the Kusun Ensemble is an extraordinary group of musicians and dancers, visiting all the way from Ghana. Founded by Nii Tetey Tetteh, the group includes past members of the National Ballet and the Pan African Orchestra. The talented performers blend the authentic sounds of traditional instruments with the exuberance of high-life music and the complexity of African jazz.
The show is a combination of traditional music, dance and acrobatic displays. With headlines reading “Kusun electrifies frenzied Audience” and reviews proclaiming the Kusun Ensemble’s sound as a “revival of a vital art,” the band is now considered one of Ghana’s most innovative and powerful music and dance ensembles.
For the past five years, the Kusun Ensemble has been making their way across the ocean, playing in theaters, performing art centers, schools and festivals in the United States, Australia, Canada and the UK.
Most of the members teach drumming and dance workshops in school programs. They are also involved in the Kusun Study Center in Nungua, Accra. This center was built by the group’s founder, Tetteh, to promote the traditional arts of Ghana.
They teach both local people and international students about Ghanaian music and cultures.
Inyo Council for the Arts, with a grant from The James Irvine Foundation, will present the Kusun Ensemble on Saturday, May 17 at a dance and drum workshop from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Dehy Park in Independence, and at a concert at the Bishop Union High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m., featuring the excitement and through-the-roof energy that the Kusun Ensemble is known for.
Tickets for the concert are now available at Inyo Council for the Arts, 137 S. Main St., Bishop. Tickets-holders are asked to be present and seated by 7:20 p.m., and if seats are available, non ticket-holders will be seated after that.
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