Hewale Sounds

Hewale Sounds is a traditional African instrumental, vocal, and drumming ensemble of 14 musicians. The group is based at the International Centre for African Music and Dance, University of Ghana, Legon. It gives concerts of traditional and new compositions arranged for traditional African instruments and their contemporary extensions, and serves as a demonstration group for the Centre’s Workshops and extension programs. Hewale Sounds was formally inaugurated at the Center for National Culture, Accra, on February 3, 1996. Since then the group has enjoyed tremendous success performing all over Ghana, including command performances for visiting heads of state, for example on August 18, 1998 at a concert at the Banquet Hall of State House in Accra on the occasion of the State Visit of President Blaise Campaore of the Republic of Burkina Faso. In an effort to incorporate music from other parts of Africa, Hewale Sounds continues to collaborate with many internationally acclaimed groups from other parts of Africa and beyond. In June, 1998, the group had joint concerts and workshops with the St. Louis African Chorus, based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It has had several concerts and collaborations with Sharon Katz, the South African Cultural Ambassador, and her band, The Peace Train, the most recent being at The State Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa, and at the South African Broadcasting corporation TV section in Johannesburg. Hewale Sounds has also toured the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition to being in residence at the International Centre for African Music and Dance, the group is often sought at local and international festivals.