Following the news about the establishment of a Music Recording Department at NAFTI under the aegis of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), the Union has began efforts in ensuring the realization of the project by engaging the services of renowned music tutor and guitarist, Nathaniel Braddock as one of the astute local and international music practitioners who will have oversight in the running of the department.
In a preliminary meeting held between the Union and the famous instructor last week, the fundamentals of the said partnership on the Music Department were successfully discussed with further meetings to be held between the Union, NAFTI and Mr. Braddock – plus the possibility of partnering with Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, a teaching and performing institution based in USA.
MUSIGA Head, Obour, Nathaniel Braddock and Award-winning guitarist, Ackah Blay. Mr. Braddock has lived and studied in Ghana and teaches African guitar at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.
He's a veteran of Chicago's indie-rock scene, playing with many bands including Edith Frost, and the Zincs. He is also the leader for the critically-acclaimed The Occidental Brothers, an American-based band that plays soukous and other African styles.
The band’s blend of high-energy soukous, rootsy Ghanaian Highlife and African Jazz conjures sounds of the golden age of the African guitar band and has made them favorites of music critics and devotees of the style, but it’s a sound that has also seduced an audience of listeners as diverse as the members of this multi-racial band.
The Bachelor of Arts (Music Production) programme is intended to prepare and equip students to become highly skilled producers of musical and audio artifacts.
The programme will recognize the creative, technical and compositional aspects of music production and aims to give students an academic and practical standpoint in order to develop and enhance their craft.
The programme is also designed to equip musicians and composers with music production skills that are essential in the career of every artiste.
Courses to be offered include Music Theory, Music and Sound Engineering, Composition and Performance, and African music and performance.