In three musical concerts held last week in London, the twinkle twinkle little stars of Ghana?s John Teye School Band held the London metropolis spellbound.
Those who thought the shows were destined to connote the usual display by some assembled girls and boys were hypnotised by the performance which they described as ?beyond expectation coming from the boys and girls of the group?.
The band made up of nine girls and eleven boys ? all pupils of the junior secondary school, sent the crowds into ecstasy and punctuated the air with calls for more ? encore ! encore !
Yes, they did listen to the overriding need for more and repeatedly churned out more gospel and traditional songs backed by exotic vibrations from the lead guitarist, the trumpeter, saxophonic, drummer and others,
Apart from the general endorsement of the group, one question repeatedly asked was whether members of the group were really products of the junior secondary school level.
Added to the great feeling of satisfaction was the communication skills of the group, the cohesion and discipline which vividly permeated the performance and the apparent Christian knowledge and values exhibited by the group during their presentation.
Says Mr O.T. John Teye, Director of the School who managed the band?s European tour under the sponsorship of the Lawrence Tetteh World Miracle Outreach Ministry: ?Music is part of the curriculum of the entire school. Members of the band take music as a hobby. It is simply not a professional musical group?.
The band owes its thanks and appreciation to Mr George Aboagye, Director of Music, under whose tutelage a number of students who passed through the school have made it big on Ghana?s musical scene.
Ghana?s High Commissioner to the UK, Mr Isaac Osei, who was the Guest of Honour at the show was emphatic in his praise for the demonstrable performance of the group.
He praised the band for its remarkable performance which he said, demonstrated the resolve of the boys and girls to make in-roads for themselves in life within the context of Christian values.
He declared: ?This is what we want to see in the new Ghana under the distinguished leadership of the President H.E. Mr J.A. Kufuor. The performance of the group should serve as an inspiration to future generations?.
Two issues emerged after the musical concerts. First is the call for the management of the band to consider bringing the group for another visit. The second issue was centred on requests from blacks in the Diaspora for details about the school to enable them send their wards for what they described as ?good, moral, and disciplined training in Ghana?.
To these requests, Mr John Teye said consideration would be given to the requests and thanked the teeming crowd for the interest which had been generated in the school following the memorable musical concerts.
