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| Hewale |
It gives concerts of traditional and new compositions arranged for traditional African instruments and their contemporary extensions, and serves as a demonstration group for the Centre's Workshops and extension programs. Hewale Sounds has also become a premier educational ensemble both in Ghana and abroad.
Hewale Sounds was formally inaugurated at the Center for National Culture, Accra, on February 3, 1996. Since then the group has enjoyed tremendous success performing all over Ghana, including command performances for visiting heads of state, the most recent being August 18, 1998, concert at the Banquet Hall of State House in Accra on the occasion of the State Visit of President Blaise Campaore, of the Republic of Burkina Faso.
In addition to being in residence at the International Centre for African Music and Dance, the group is often sought at local and international festivals, and Alliance Francaise, ACRAG 1998 Awards Nite. The group has also performed at the University College of Education, Winneba, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, the Ghana Music Teachers' Association Conference at Takoradi, and recently, at the invitation of the 23rd World Conference of the International Society for Music Education.
In an effort to incorporate music from other parts of Africa, Hewale Sounds continues to collaborate with many internationally acclaimed groups from other parts of Africa and beyond. In June, 1998, the group had joint concerts and workshops with the St. Louis African Chorus, based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
It has had several concerts and collaborations with Sharon Katz, the South African Cultural Ambassador, and her band, The Peace Train, the most recent being at The State Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa, and at the South African Broadcasting corporation TV section in Johannesburg. Hewale Sounds has also toured the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
