Abstract

This article investigates the indigenisation of Western orchestral music in Ghana by focusing on the Pan-African Orchestra (PAO), founded by Nana Danso Abiam in 1988. The factors that influenced the establishment of the PAO and its approaches to indigenisation are examined. Primary research data consist of interview sessions with Abiam, members of the PAO, its patrons, as well as selected cultural officers of the orchestra. Secondary sources consulted include published and unpublished documents, recordings of performances and relevant sheet music. It is concluded that the PAO’s purposeful attempts to combine different indigenous African elements and/or approaches have strengthened notions of the indigenisation of orchestral music in Ghana, which may be linked to the cultural reengineering efforts of Kwame Nkrumah, political revolutionary and former president of Ghana.

摘要

本文以 Nana Danso Abiam 于 1988 年创立的泛非管弦乐团 (PAO) 为中心，调查了西方管弦乐在加纳的本土化。研究了影响 PAO 成立的因素及其本土化方法。主要研究数据包括与 Abiam、PAO 成员、赞助人以及选定的乐团文化官员的访谈。查阅的二手资料包括已发表和未发表的文件、表演录音和相关乐谱。得出的结论是，PAO 有目的地尝试结合不同的非洲本土元素和/或方法，加强了加纳管弦乐本土化的​​观念，这可能与 Kwame Nkrumah 的文化再造努力有关，