Pan African Orchestra Reviving Itself in 2012

The Pan African Orchestra (PAO), known internationally for using only traditional and neo-traditional African instruments in its symphonic pieces, has launched its 2012 Revitalization Campaign. The Revitalization Campaign is a community based program that aims to raise GH₵100,000 to help restore the orchestra to its full capacity and develop a variety of community outreach strategies that create cultural and musical exchanges.

PAO was created in 1988, by conductor and composer, Nana Danso Abiam. The orchestra's mission is to explore the classical foundations of traditional African music, which Abiam describes as “raw music material passed down from ancestors” and cultivate new compositional and orchestral techniques that integrate these ethnic styles into a continental art form, consistent with the Pan African ethos to unite the African people under one national flag. In the past two decades, the orchestra has been featured in various international magazines and has had the opportunity to play in some of the most well-known theatre houses in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada.

Abiam is confident that the orchestra can build on its past successes and re-establish itself as one of the premiere African orchestras in the world.

“We have had a strong reputation over the past 20 years that has afforded us many different opportunities. With the help of local community organizations and businesses, and the support of our fan base, we hope to be able to create a legacy and a permanent appreciation for classical African music,” Abiam says.

The “Revitalization” campaign will consist of various regional concerts and create opportunities for the community to engage with the orchestra and become more familiar with its mission and music. The first concert will take place at the British Council on the 14th of January, 2012. The orchestra will give two separate concerts, one starting at 6:30 pm and the other 8:30 pm. Tickets for each performance time are GH₵30. For more information on how to get your tickets or how you or your organization can become involved in the Revitilization campaign, please contact Cordie Aziz at 020.704.2047 or via email at [email protected].