Bessa Simons band climaxes Ashesi’s Arts and Science week

March 19, 2016
It is not often that the Ashesi community takes a break from work in the middle of the semester to wind down. And that’s exactly what happened for close to two hours when the Bessa Simons band visited Ashesi as part of the Arts and Science week. Staff, faculty and students danced and sang along to the best of old-school and contemporary highlife music till the Berekuso rains came down.

Rebecca Awuah, Head of the Arts and Sciences Department opened the concert, encouraging the community to “forget about your assignments, your quizzes, your papers to grade, your to-do list and enjoy the ambiance, and the best music Ghana has to offer.“

The band was led by renowned highlife musician, Bessa Simons, who has gained both local and international acclaim for his rich music over the years.  Over his career he has played on tour in Europe and Africa, alongside a host of celebrated musicians including trumpeter Hugh Masekela and saxophonist, Manu Dibango. He also enjoyed a long stint with celebrated African band, Osibisa. Locally, he has worked with some of the most notable artistes in the highlife industry including Paulina Oduro, Pat Thomas and Paapa Yankson.

“Not only has Bessa Simons mastered a lot of musical genres, but also he is a great entertainer who has had an incredible international experience,” said Dr. Oduro Frimpong, lecturer in the Arts and Sciences Department. “Thus he is able to bring to bear, some of the old highlife music as well as some the new ones.”

The band had the crowd on their feet, dancing through the night while entertaining them with both classic and contemporary popular highlife hits including Belembe, Awow Yi and We Are Going. At its climax, the concert ended promptly, as the Berekuso rains came down, also drawing the curtains on the Arts and Science week. “The concert is an extension of what we do in the classroom, but to present it in a non-academic way,” said Dr. Oduro Frimpong. “It’s also just to bring the community together, in the midst of a hectic semester just to relax and debrief.”