The Management of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) has held discussions with Executives and representatives of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) on the establishment of a Music Recording Department at NAFTI, which will lead to the award of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Production.

The discussions focused on the content of the Music Production programme, and development of the necessary modern equipment and skilled faculty needed to develop a programme that responds to the needs of the film industry.

The BA in Music Production is intended to prepare and equip students to become highly skilled producers of musical and audio artifacts. The programme recognizes the creative, technical and compositional aspects of music production and aims to give students an academic and practical standpoint to be able to develop their craft and the craft in Ghana further.

The BA degree is designed to equip musicians and composers with music production skills that are essential for success in today’s modern marketplace. Courses to be offered include Music Theory, Music and Sound Engineering, Composition and Performance, and African music and performance.

According to the Rector of NAFTI, Professor Linus Abraham, the Department is being developed in collaboration with MUSIGA to ensure it fits and corresponds to the needs of the Music Industry in Ghana. Prof. Abraham therefore challenged MUSIGA to support realization of the initiative and also work towards the standardization of the requisite skills for all levels and aspects of the industry in Ghana. He expressed the view that such efforts can result in Ghanaian music genres attaining world class status.

Bice Osei Kuffour, aka Obour, the President of MUSIGA, in his response expressed MUSIGA’s commitment to the idea since it will fill a void in professional training of musicians that has long existed in the industry in Ghana. He indicated that there are a few music education institutions available in Ghana, and he noted that the addition of music business and marketing courses to the programme is crucial to developing the music courses in Ghana.

He was optimistic that the establishment of the Media Creative and Arts University will galvanize efforts by Ghanaian musicians to attain world class status.

A Committee (made of representatives from NAFTI and MUSIGA) to fashion out the road map to the establishment of the Department has been set up under the chairmanship of Prof. John Collins, a patron of MUSIGA and a lecturer at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon.

NAFTI is in the process of being transformed into a Media and Creative Arts University to cater for the professional skills development of the Creative Arts Industry. The President has identified the Creative Arts as a viable area of economic development for the nation and has expressed the vision of turning the creative arts industry in Ghana into a global competitive industry.

As a media arts university, NAFTI will provide training at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the creative arts in general – in Film, Graphic Design, Production Design, Photography, Animation, Video, Multimedia Production, Broadcast Journalism, Performance for Film, Music Recording and Production, Film Producing and Entertainment Business Management, Broadcast and Media Engineering, amongst others.

The Department of Music Production is part of the gradual process of realizing this transformation in NAFTI. In the past year, the Multimedia Production and the Broadcast Journalism Departments have been added to the programmes in Film and Television Production.

In attendance were industry giants such as Zapp Mallet, Willie Roi, Appietus, Rex Omar, Edem and Bessa Simons while NAFTI was represented by the Heads of Departments of NAFTI.

The new MUSIGA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC PRODUCTION is expected to be operational by September 2014.