Music lessons at the University of Mississippi are about to become even more dynamic.In an ambitious move that will vitalize course offerings and further the university=s goal of becoming a regional leader in music instruction, UM has acquired a hand-carved 15-piece drum set from Ghana.Intricately decorated and culturally-rich, the drums are native to the Ewe (pronounced A∞¥-way) of southeastern Ghana. For centuries, Ewe drums have provided vibrant rhythms for different kinds of indigenous dances, ranging from recreational and religious to warrior and court music, said UM Assistant Professor of Music George Worlasi Kwasi Dor, McDonnell-Barksdale Chair in Ethnomusicology. The Ewe drums debuted April 14 in a public World Percussion Ensemble concert at the Band Hall on the Oxford campus. The program featured Dor as the master drummer of the Gahu drum ensemble.Carved from a Tweneboa, a cedar tree in Akin, Ghana, the drum set=s fragile skins and tuning pegs survived the long trip to North American shores. Acquisition of the drums Aresonates with UM=s commitment to the diversification of its programs,@ said Dor, a Ghanian. AAfrican drumming can become a vital component of our rich performance programs, and students majoring in composition and music theory can draw on rhythmic resources imbibed from drum lessons to enrich their creative vocabulary,@ he said. AThe drums will also add to the cultural lives of African students studying at Ole Miss.@
The drums, which cost some $2,000, were purchased by the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College with additional funding from the Department of Music.UM=s new drum set, handcrafted specifically for social use, will greatly aid Dor=s work as an Africanist ethnomusicologist, he said. The instruments not only will serve as unique musical teaching tools, they also will help students better understand traditional African-derived ensemble drumming and African and world music themes, Dor added. Outside Oxford campus classrooms, plans call for the formation of a performing African dance ensemble and drumming lessons offered to students, faculty and staff. AThis area has a rich history in rock-and-roll and blues, music that was strongly influenced by African traditions,@ said John Samonds, associate dean of the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College. ANot only are these drums a physical symbol of the cross-cultural influences, but through them those connections can be studied. We look forward to both public performances and students studying how to play them.@Ever since preeminent American ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood in 1954 introduced world music ensembles B including West African drumming B to the University of California, Los Angeles, specialized drumming continues to be offered at several American universities. UM now joins a growing list of schools, such as the University of West Virginia, the University of North Texas, and the University of California at Berkeley, whose directors are indigenous Ewe musicians.
AA major goal for any university music program is to find means of incorporating instructional experiences in music of a wider range of world cultures,@ said Steve Brown, UM professor of music and chair of the Department of Music. AThis acquisition provides a set of instruments which will permit authentic instruction in musical styles of West Africa, and thereby significantly enhance our efforts to broaden the scope of music instruction.@The Ewe drums will complement UM=s existing eclectic array of music course offerings; currently, UM students perform on steel drums and other instruments native to the Caribbean, and the music department maintains the Mississippi Early Music Ensemble, which performs on period instruments from the Renaissance and Medieval eras in music.AI=m very pleased to have Professor Dor as a colleague,@ said UM Associate Professor of Music Ricky Burkhead, who directs the World Percussion Ensemble and University Steel Band. In 1986, Burkhead introduced steel drumming to the state while teaching at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena. AWhat he will teach my students and me about his culture is invaluable,@ Burkhead said.Dor, an accomplished musician who is widely recognized as a composer of contemporary Ghanaian art music and plays the cello, alto saxophone, keyboard and African drums, said he is thrilled that administrators supported his request to purchase the instruments. He anticipates incorporating the drums in lessons and performing with colleagues and students.AI am confident that nobody will simply want these instruments locked up in a room for good,@ he said.
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