The founder of Afro Classical Nights, Jesse Jojo Johnson says to improve music development in Ghana, the government “needs to take the National Symphony Orchestra seriously because it is an engine that can propel serious music making in this country.”
Mr Johnson explained that the Government of Ghana should invest in its development as this “will be a big influence on the lives of upcoming musicians because it will be something they can aspire, work, and graduate from to launch their career nationally and globally.”
Speaking at the December edition of the bi-monthly Afro Classical Nights held at Ghana Club 100, Jesse Johnson applauded the team for its “marginal improvement; which is evident in its organization and intentionality.”
“When it comes to following through with some of our plans this year we were able to get three important things done; having our first recital [string quartet] for the whole event in October was a major highlight. Having a choral music happening here and having a group of 8th sonnet calibre here is something we had looked forward to,” he noted in the 2022 edition of Afro Classical Nights.
In 2022, the group held programs to bridge the inter-generational gap among musicians as it witnessed “some young people doing brilliant stuff”, therefore assured that in 2023 that “we will help someone organize a recital this year”.
He argued, “I’m not too big on education, but education is important. There are a lot of people who understand music from the theoretical perspective, but the performance is not a thing that inspires more study. I think it will make sense.”
The Music Director of Afro Classical Night, Kwaku Boakye-Frempong appealed for funds. “We have actually reached a point where we need support at least something for the performers to show appreciation”.
About Afro Classical Night
“Afro Classical Nights” is a bi-monthly classical and art music recital show aimed at recreating the casual experience of classical music that was once common in the history of the genre’s development in Europe and the Americas.
It is the flagship event of Choral Music Ghana, a musical arts and culture non-profit with a mission to present the best of Ghanaian art and music to the rest of the world.
The project also provides an avenue for many brilliant Ghanaian classical musicians to showcase their musicianship to a live local audience and a global audience over the Internet. The project is biased towards increasing the appreciation of the audience of Classical music. It is designed towards achieving that end.
“Afro Classical Nights” was conceived by Jesse Jojo Johnson, founder of Choral Music Ghana in 2018 and first hosted by Presley Joe Black, a jazz and classical pianist. The need to improve the appreciation of classical music by providing a platform that guaranteed regular public performances without significant overheads drove them to pursue this pioneering approach to event organising.