$13 - $16 adult; $9 - $12 student
Upper level seats are listed first. Includes all fees

Feel the rhythm; hear the music! 

Obo Addy, one of the key originators of the seminal musical movement now known as "Worldbeat," is a prominent member of the first generation of African musicians to bring its traditional and popular music to Europe and America. The program creates an aural and visual history of Ghana. 

Addy has a twenty-year presence on the international performing arts scene and has become known for his ability to celebrate past traditions while expanding to embrace new ideas and foreign influences. In 1996, he received the National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor a traditional artist can receive. Obo is the first African born artist ever to receive it. 

Okropong means "eagle" in Addy’s native Ga language. The group of 6-8 artists performs traditional Ghanaian dance and music chosen from the various ethnic cultures in Ghana, including Ga, Ewe, Ashanti, Dagomba, and Dagarti. Using a variety of hand and stick drums, talking drums, bells and shakers, the musicians build layers of driving rhythms while the dancers, clad in colorful West African garments, respond with physical movement. At the end of each concert, the artists engage the audience in a spirited call and response, celebrating the shared experience with them through song and dance. 

So many of Obo’s memories of his childhood and youth are entwined with the rich drumming and dance traditions that were a part of every day of his life. After years of performing and teaching in the Pacific Northwest, it became clear that there was a need to pull this together into a more comprehensive concept. In 1986, Obo, his wife Susan, and friends established a virtual center, Homowo African Arts & Cultures, in Portland, Oregon, Obo’s adopted home. It offers programs in schools, parks, community centers, and performance venues all over the country. With the support of the board of directors, Obo is now dreaming of creating a physical center–an actual place—where the community can enjoy taking classes, eating African food, viewing African art and sharing in dialogue with friends and acquaintances.

www.homowo.org  

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Caldwell Fine Arts l 2112 Cleveland Blvd. l Caldwell, ID 83605 l cfa@collegeofidaho.edu
Sylvia Hunt: 208.454.1376 l Shirley Marmon: 208.459.3405

Copyright 2003 Caldwell Fine Arts