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KENN KAFUI
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Kenn Kafui was born in 1951 in the Volta region of Ghana.
His father was a music teacher and his grandfather, a church
chorister. Kafui studied at the University of Ghana, Legon,
and graduated in 1975. He joined the staff of Achimota
College, Accra, one of the Ghana's leading secondary
schools, in 1979 and became the Head of Music in that
institution in 1982.
Sources of influence
As an aspiring composer, Kafui was much inspired by
the achievements of his compatriots N.Z. Nayo and
Ephraim Amu. Another source of influence in his
creative work has been Nketia, from whom Kafui
learnt how to proceed from analysis to synthesis, vis a
vis the creative use of the results of African music
research.
Development of new concepts
Insights gained through Kafui's analytical work have
led to his development of new concepts, for example
the pentanata (a work for a melodic instrument
employing the pentatonic scale) and drumnata (a work
for percussion instruments only). The rhyming of the
terms with 'sonata' is significant.
Kafui’s chief ambition
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Kafui's chief ambition is to compose music which,
though based on indigenous African material, can
appeal to audiences world-wide.