Donnerstag, 14. Juli 2016

Being a star infront of your dentist

2016 - 60th birthday concert in Baden

We are there as a surprise for the wife of a dentist, who was working for Africa. As we arrived in Baden the daughter came and told us, please try to stay away from the audience, because my mother doesn't know you are here. We want to see her in the hall with a beaming in her face, because she loves African music.
 In the hall the buffet was upstairs and the concert will then take place in the downstairs. That is how the whole thing began.

as we are on the stage I can see somebody was beaming from far. We sang a happy birthday song with the audience and her family used that possibility to present the gift on the stage. As she came to the stage, you can see and feel her good mood to have us there. After receiving her gift, she thanked us for being there. We made her feel as if she would still be in Africa.

As I always present my birthday gift as a workshop, I did the same at this party. I wanted 10 family members to take part in the workshop as a gift for the lady. The request was open so nobody was willing to come. As you know, everytime people are panicking at the beginning, because none of them have taken part in African percussion and they are afraid to be embarrassed infront ot their family. 
So the son in law of the lady went round and picked people by himself. As they sat on the drums, there was one chair left and one drum. Now the lady made an announcement that there is man going to Ghana with his son on the next morning. So she would love that man to take part. I trained with them and then performed a short piece for the lady. The audience was thrilled.

After the show as they were introducing the musicians to the audience and they reached my turn and introduced me as a Ghanaian living in the littel village of Sins. One table was applausing and chearing so strong, everybody was watching the table and saying, yes he is from your village.

The husband of the lady came to the stage and said that all the audience are dentists and here with their wives. The dentist from your village is also here.
After the show I went to their table and greet them. I saw them and knew this is our family dentist who is known by my wifes family since long time, even before I came to the village.

This is were my motto comes in: Music brings energy, energy brings happyness.



Donnerstag, 7. Juli 2016


The taste of being a star  -  Zanzibar


Zanzibar and the 60th birthday concert

In January 2016 we performed in Oberfrick at a 60th birthday celebration. The house we played in belongs to the shooting club of the region and this was also the title of the house. These circumstances took us alomst an hour to believe that this is where we are playing. 
As a Ghanaian having no connection to gunhouses, I was shocked driving there. The road was tiny and rough and it was the only road leading to this place. We had to follow the signboards. What helped us to believe that this is where we will perform was special wood torched which you can see from far. That gave me courage to drive closer. As I arrived there I didn't part next to the house, I left my car on the street. Then I walked closer to the house and I saw two women standing infront of the door. They saw I was suspicious and they are laughing. I got closer and one asked me:"Are you Mr. Donkor?" and I said: "Yes!" They told me to park well, because the event is in the house and the woman was the one who is celebrating her birthday and contacted me weeks before.
We got inside and prepared for our performance and started punctually.
I started with telling jokes of how we came to this house with suspicious feelings.
Then we wanted to present a gift to the lady celebrating. The gift was a game like a workshop. We got some women and men taking part, brought them to the stage and practiced. We then presented together a show, which was realy great and funny. This took fears from the other audience and in the end everybody wanted to try the drums. This kept the party so dynamic till the end.
Then we found out in the brake, there is a musician from Zanzibar in the audience and we asked him to jam with us. We took the audience by surprise, because they didn't know that he is a musician. The party took the direction to a fabulous mood.

This confirmed my motto again  -  music brings energy and energy brings happyness.


Mittwoch, 6. Juli 2016

Music journey from Africa to Europe


Concert in Pratteln, Feuerwehrmagazin: January 2016


Just arriving from Ghana around 10 a.m. and teaching from 1 - 6p.m. at the musicschool Frick, I went to perform on the concert in Pratteln in the evening. The event was for the firemen organisation of the City of Pratteln.

I was still full of music from Ghana, where we had the christmas and new year celebrations. We played there from traditional to all kinds of modern music and we played for many hours nonstop. So this was still in me and inspired me to get the strength and energy to make this nonstop music journey.

At the concert I joined in the group of Heiri and his friends as a percussionist. The style we played took me back to Africa. I enjoyed it and really gave them the groove of a collection of rhythms.It was a very dynamic concert, swiss and african musicians mixed.

It confirmed my motto: music gives energy, energy brings happyness