Message from the Head of Department

You are welcome to the Music Department, located within the School of Performing Arts! The department was established in the early 1960s to provide rigorous training that combined the disciplines of the Western Art Music (‘Classical’) tradition with research, practice, and propagation of traditional music from an African perspective, and has since expanded in new directions such as the study and practice of popular music and music technology.

Our curriculum is structured in such a way that it provides professional and academic direction for students from across Africa and around the globe with a broad range of interests. Whether you are interested in researching traditional or popular music, learning to play and master the seprewa harp-lute or gyil xylophone, becoming a maestro on piano, guitar, or violin, composing for traditional ensembles or symphony orchestra, learning the latest music production techniques, singing in award-winning choirs and getting training in vocal technique and sight-singing, learning about the acoustical and ergonomic considerations that go into instrument design, studying Schenkerian analysis or the groundbreaking Structural Set Theory of African music pioneered by Prof Willie Anku – you will find support for all of these and more at our department.

A key factor that differentiates us is that our distinguished faculty, who are leaders in their fields, also welcome walk-ins outside of lectures and provide valuable coaching and mentorship beyond the classroom. Our students also have unlimited access to a well-stocked music library, a piano lab with numerous instruments to practice on, a music studio featuring key recording and production equipment as well as a large library of world-class plug-ins, an extensive collection of Ghanaian/African instruments (drums, xylophones, atenteben, seperewa) for practical instruction, and even the world-renowned Nketia Archives. Students are also given numerous opportunities to compose, practice, and perform music with a broad range of ensembles such as the pop band, choral ensemble, string ensemble, wind ensemble, Jama ensemble (recreational Ghanaian singing accompanied by drums/percussion), and the African ensemble (with the option specialize further in an atenteben flute choir, traditional drumming group, or traditional xylophone ensemble in certain years when offered).

From its earliest days, the Music Department at the University of Ghana has gone on to educate scores of music professionals who have imprinted a uniquely African voice in the contemporary musical world  – cementing our global reputation as the “Gateway to African Music.” Our graduates worldwide work as composers, conductors, producers, artists, scholars, and entrepreneurs in arts management in music studios, performing troupes, cultural and religious institutions, concert halls, the mass media, and universities and schools.

We welcome your interest in our department. You can send us an email at musicdeptspa@ug.edu.gh, contact specific professors/lecturers of interest using their contact info by their individual profiles, or walk in anytime between 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday to make inquiries at the department, located on the main Legon campus of the University of Ghana. If you are an aspiring and talented music student, composer, scholar, teacher, or serious enthusiast interested in African music or the broad range of genres and disciplines we cover, we would love to have you join our community!