Akesse Sanza to represent Ghana @ the Ethno Australia 2014

Akesse Sanza the drummer and Tour Guide, who has been making Ghana proud at different stages and also lifting the flag of the nation so high with his talent, is at it once more. This time he will be representing Ghana at International Folk Music Festival 2014 (aka Ethno Australia 2014).

International Folk Music Festival 2014 is a folk music camp for young musicians from all over the world. At the festival of such magnitude, participants get to know each other, exchange cultural ideas, share experiences and explore diverse cultural backgrounds and reinvent traditional music.


Early 2014, Sanza represented Ghana at the Ethno Germany festival. He was part of the teachers who taught participant on Ghanaian traditional folk songs and Ghanaian tunes at the Castle Lichtenberg alongside other musicians from 12 countries in a concert.


Ethno Australia 2014 will be held from 15th December, 2014 to 2nd January, 2015, at Queenlands, Australia. It is proudly organized by Brisbane Multicultural Art Centre (BEMAC - a non-profit arts organization works with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. BEMAC works with communities’ artist and art organisations across Queensland, to deliver projects which engage and develop high quality multicultural arts and artists. BEMAC is the lead agency in Queensland specializing in the development, presentation and promotion of Multicultural arts).


Ethno Australia is a unique musical project based on artistic collaboration. Ethno brings together musicians from across the globe to share and perform traditional music.

Held annually, Ethno consists of a 10 day music gathering in December each year, followed by performances at Woodford Folk Festival and World By Night. BEMAC run Ethno Australia as part of an international network, coordinated by Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI), the largest youth music NGO in the world, with the mission to “enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries” and membership across 45 different countries world-wide.


According to organizers on inviting Sanza, they said, "noting his musical practice, we believe his attendance at this year’s program would be of benefit to both his musical development and also the cross-cultural exchange potential of the program itself."


When this reporter contacted the invitee, to know how he feels at the invitation, he had this to say, "it feels good to be recognised internationally and I will take this opportunity to sell Ghana's rich traditional music and culture in Australia."


Ethno Australia will see participants from a multiplicity of countries including Australia, West Papua, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Scotland, Estonia, Austria and Chile.