Prof. Nketsia goes home, May 4

The burial service for venerated Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer, Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia, who passed on March 13 at the Legon Hospital, has been set for May 4 at the forecourt of the State House in Accra.

Among the world’s foremost authorities on the music of Africa, Professor Nketsia published over 200 publications and 80 musical compositions. He is also credited with innovating the 6/8 time signature for African rhythm.

An only child, Nketsia was born in Mampong (1921). He trained as a teacher at the Presbyterian Training College, Akropong. He was also educated at a number of elite institutions across the world: University of London, Birkbeck College, the Trinity School of Music and the Julliard School.

Nketsia was professor of music at UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh. He has also lectured at Harvard, Stanford, the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, as well as serving as emeritus professor at the University of Ghana.

Widely considered a legend, Nketsia is recipient of prized laurels including Companion of the Order of the Star of Ghana, the Grand Medal of the Government of Ghana (Civil Division) and the IMC-UNESCO Prize for Distinguished Service to Music.