Ghanian troupe features African music

Wyoming will have a rare treat October 7-9 when international award-winning musician Okaidja will perform in Thermopolis. He will be accompanied by Shókoto, whose music and rhythms fuse Ghanian traditional song with drums and other traditional African instruments.

The musicians will be conducting a three-day residency in the schools.

A public concert will be held Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in Hot Springs County Schools Auditorium at 415 Springview.

The program is sponsored by Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation with grants from the Western States Arts Federation, the Wyoming Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts and Wyoming State Legislature. Additional support comes from Hot Springs County Education Endowment Foundation.

Okaidja is a dynamic vocalist, gifted multi-instrumentalist, exultant dancer and an inspired storyteller. He was born into a family of singers and songwriters in Ghana. His crippled uncle was the town’s notorious composer, who spared no one with the songs he wrote about life in the township of Kokrobitey, a small fishing village on the west coast of Ghana. Okaidja’s mother was nicknamed “the spiritual singer” for her performances in church. As a young boy Okaidja sang while he worked on fishing boats, learning the a cappella songs sung by fisherman.

At age 19, he was accepted as a professional dancer for the prestigious Ghana Dance Ensemble at the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies. He studied with the best teachers in his country, learning the traditional Ga fetish dances of southern Ghana, and becoming known for his energetic stage presence.

Shókoto was formed as he became interested in the multi-cultural influences of music of the African Diaspora. Together, they bring a fusion of traditional and contemporary African Diaspora sounds, combining rhythms of Ghana, Latin America, South America, and folk and blues of North America’s Deep South.

Among the instruments they play are guitar, oud, gourd drums, whistle and gyil, a traditional Ghanian wooden xylophone made from gourds and native woods.

Tickets for the public performance are available at the door, $10 for adults, $8 for seniors. Students are free.

For more information about Okaidja, see video and music samples at http://www.okaidja.com.