ACCRA, Oct. 3 — On Thursday night, the performance of Ghana’s National Symphony Orchestra wowed its local and expatriate audience who converged at the forecourt of the National Theater, built for the West African nation from 1990 to 1992 under a China Aid project.
The orchestra played several classical tunes, including Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi, Serenade in G and Voi Che Sapete by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Hey Everyday by Bob Pinodo.
These classical tunes were interspersed with local compositions, including Nkebo Baaya (I’ll go with you) and All for You, by Emmanuel Tetteh Mensah; Afrobeat medleys from the legendary Osibisa; Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba; and Guantanamera by Cuban musician Joseito Fernandez, among many other excellent tunes.
Supporting the National Symphony Orchestra was the Tema Mozama Cathedral Orchestra, which brought various tunes including Cantate Domino by Claudio Monteverdi, The Whole World, Ayeyi, and many more, blending both local and global classical tunes that held the excited audience spellbound.
At one point, the thrilled audience couldn’t resist standing up to move their bodies to the rhythmic harmony that saturated the atmosphere on the night when the world celebrated International Music Day.
Henry Herbert Malm, Executive Director of the National Theater of Ghana, told Xinhua in an interview that the National Theater seeks to revamp its activities with a more commercial outlook to make the performing arts industry attractive to the corporate world.
Malm expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its recent gesture of commitment to finance the renovation of the facility, which it had gifted Ghana 34 years ago.
“We are not only expecting a renovation but also a closer collaboration with the performing arts sector in China so we can learn from their rich experience,” Malm stated. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
