Hemu International Jazz Orchestra ready to perform in Ghana

The Hemu International Jazz Orchestra as well as renowned bassists Etienne Mbappé and Thomas Dobler are invited to perform at a series of concerts in Accra.

The Hemu Jazz Orchestra, which is from the University of Music in Lausanne, Switzerland, would perform alongside the Ayekoo Drummers of Ghana in a charity concert at the National Theater on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

The band are also reportedly hosting a mini-concert at The Ghana Club on Wednesday, March 30, at The Ghana Club, with their final gig set to take place on April 1 at +233 Jazz Bar.

Mr. Philip Stadler, Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a cocktail party, said the band were here to project the rich heritage of jazz music and its rooted origins in west Africa.

Mr. Stadler said the musical performance would help expose Swiss music in Ghana and bridge the gap between the two cultures.

He revealed that the Hemu International Jazz Orchestra would also organize educational exchange programs with students from the University of Ghana, Legon, as well as the University of Education, Winneba.

Mr. Thomas Dobler, a jazz and classical percussionist, said in an interview that the idea was to produce a show in Ghana with a local collaboration with the Ayekoo Drummers.

He noted that the concert series would seek to give jazz lovers a sense of classical western music, traditional West African music and jazz.

Legendary Cameroonian bassist Mbappé expressed his excitement at being in Ghana for the first time, saying he was looking forward to delighting jazz lovers with something ecstatic.

Mbappé said he had heard a lot of good things about Ghana and was excited to finally play in Ghana after playing around the world.