The National Symphony Orchestra Ghana (NSO Ghana) is the national symphony orchestra of Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. It was founded in 1959 by order of Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

, and established by Philip Gbeho, who had composed the Ghanaian national anthem

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana is the national anthem of Ghana. The anthem was originally written and composed by Philip Gbeho and adopted upon independence in 1957.The current text was chosen some time after the 1966 coup in Ghana. Mr...

 in 1957.

The orchestra is based in Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

, the nation's capital, and is a government organization, with its own administration under the control of the National Commission on Culture. According to the orchestra's website, it is the only classical symphony orchestra in West, Central, and East Africa.http://www.spacemedia.de/nsoghana/english/mitte.html It performs regularly at the National Theatre

National Theatre (Accra)

The National Theatre, opened in 1992 and located in the Victoriaborg district of Accra, Ghana, was built by the Chinese and offered as a gift to Ghana....

 in Accra.

Conductor

Since 2002, the orchestra has been conducted by Lahnor Adjartey Adjei, who serves as the orchestra's music director. Former conductors include Phllip Gbeho, Geoffery Boateng, Dinah Reindorf , Nana Danso Abiam, Kenn Kafui, Emmanuel Gyimah Labi

Emmanuel Gyimah Labi

Emmanuel Gyimah Labi is a Ghanaian-American composer, conductor, and music professor. He is a graduate of the Achimota School and a former conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ghana.-External links:*...

, Akosua Obuo Addo, George Dorf, Oscar Sulley, and Kweku Acquaah-Harrison.

Instrumentation

The orchestra comprises 46 musicians, of which 32 are full-time and 14 are part-time. In the past, the instrumentation has been as high as 47.

The instrumentation includes 3 flutes, 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, 1 bassoon, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, 2 horns, 1 tuba, 5 drummers and percussionists (including traditional African drums, bells, and rattles), 8 violin I, 6 violin II, 5 violas, 5 cellos, and 3 double basses.

The orchestra sometimes performs with a chorus.

Performances

The National Symphony Orchestra Ghana has performed at such state functions such as Emancipation Day and visits of foreign dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II, Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...

, and the Sultan of Brunei.

The orchestra has also performed at the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC), PANAFEST, and Septemberfest, as well as at various fundraising programs. Additionally, it performs at schools, hotels, weddings, and funerals, as well as at Easter and Christmas concerts.

Since 1996, the orchestra has presented an African Composer's Series, in which it performs the works of composers from Ghana and other African nations.

External links

• National Symphony Orchestra Ghana official site
• National Symphony Orchestra Ghana page
• George Dor biography (mentions his conducting the Ghana National Symphony Orchestra)