RHYTHMS, MELODIES, & HIGHLIFE: Youth Training & Mentorship through Music (Ghana Month Music #6)
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Ph.D.
Executive Director at EAGLES & ANANSE Centers for Leadership Development
Leadership is not about you, but begins with you. Great leaders train people to SUCCEED them; but transformational leaders train people to SUPERSEDE them. Africa’s most urgent want is the want of transformational leaders to train, MENTOR, and empower its army of youth.
Rightly trained and mentored, the youth of Africa are the ones to create the Africa we have been waiting for—the “Africa we want” (AU’s Agenda 2063). And one of the most effective vehicles for youth leadership development is through the agency of quality music.
Music is the measure of a nation’s health. Music not only regulates the character of a people, but also reflects its character. Good quality music imparts knowledge, soothes emotions, and heals the body—both physically and spiritually. It’s why the judicious use of music is indispensable in the task of creating “an Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics” (Aspiration #5, AU’s Agenda 2063).
In 1959, the first president of Ghana and Father of Pan Africanism, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, established the National Symphony Orchestra to spearhead an African cultural renaissance agenda in Ghana. Since then there had been several musical luminaries who have in the course of time mentored other great musicians to keep aflame the vision of Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance.
In recent times, the task of employing music to build the nation and the African continent has fallen upon a generation of Christian YOUTH CHOIRS who are being trained and mentored by capable adults. Among these youth choirs, the WINNEBA YOUTH CHOIR (in Winneba, Ghana) deserves special recognition as a pioneer and model of youth choirs to showcase Ghana and Africa to the world.
Founded in May 1989 to provide a platform for education and development, the Winneba Youth Choir has made its mark both at home and abroad. This celebrated youth choir has contributed positively to the lives of thousands of youths in Winneba and its environs, promoted tourism in Ghana through music, and has also contributed significantly to the cultural and spiritual landscape of Ghana.
Summarizing an in-depth study of the contribution of the Winneba Youth Choir towards the socio-economic development of Ghana, the authors of the study write:
“The [Winneba Youth] Choir has become a model upon which has developed a thriving industry of Youth Choirs in Ghana, providing employment and opportunity for self-development to many budding music professionals in Ghana. …The Choir has shaped the career opportunities of many young people and has provided a unique identity for Winneba, Ghana and the West African sub-region as they have tried portraying the capabilities of the youth of Africa through choral music. The youth who travelled outside Ghana have highly been motivated by the various invitations to either contest or serve as guests in choral music performances.” (J. A. Amuah & E. O. Acquah, ).
The credit for the training, mentorship, and empowerment of the Winneba Youth Choir goes to musical visionaries Dr. George Mensa-Essilfie and John Francis Arthur-Yamoah (Paa John) who, since the founding of the Winneba Youth Choir, have continued to offer transformational leadership to this acclaimed youth choir in Ghana.
Additional credit for the success of the Winneba Youth Choir also goes to many ordinary Ghanaian citizens and leaders (traditional leaders, political leaders, and religious leaders) who, over the years have supported this flagship youth choir by their presence at musical concerts and by their tangible and moral support of the young people.
Perhaps the best way to showcase the Winneba Youth Choir during our celebration of “Ghana Month” through music, is to invite you to enjoy the rhythms and melodies of the youth choir’s “HIGHLIFE” medley. It was originally performed during a pre-Easter musical concert in 2023. In attendance at the concert were the current and former Presidents of Ghana, and other influential leaders of the nation.
Pay special attention to the active participation and dance by the adult audience that was present during the concert. Their presence and enthusiastic involvement was itself a form of mentorship to the youth. Indeed, the vibrant youth of Africa need the wisdom, support, and guidance from some gray hairs.
King Solomon said it best: "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair". (Proverbs 20:29). YOUTH MENTORSHIP!
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NOTE:
1. Although Ghana's traditional and current music styles are diverse, highlife music is the most well-known. Originating in Ghana in the 19th century, highlife music and dance have spiritual and cultural significance and are used to mark important events like weddings, funerals, festivals, and worship .
2. Highlife music is not just about listening; it's about movement and dance. The rhythms and melodies of highlife songs are infectious. You cannot listen to them without getting involved.
3. Thank God for the Winneba Youth Choir, under the patronage of Dr. George Mensah-Essilfie and John Francis Arthur-Yamoah (Paa John). Theirs represent the kind of transformational leadership that Africa needs to train, mentor, and empower today’s youth.
4. For more on the Winneba Youth Choir, see "Winneba Youth Choir (WYC): Pioneer Choir in Ghana's Socio-Economic Development" posted on the Choral Evangelist GH page on April 2, 2017. The page republishes an article in an academic journal published in 2013 by Joshua Alfred Amuah and Emmanuel Obed Acquah titled "Twenty Five Years of Choral Music Performance: Contribution of Winneba Youth Choir (WYC) in the Socio-Economic Development of Ghana."
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—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, PhD
March 9, 2024.
Director, ANANSE & AFES
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Medical Director at Topeka Surgery Center
7 个月Thanks for posting. Music somehow can clarify our thinking as well elevating our mood.