Bernard Woma is a master musician, founder and director of a music and arts center in Ghana — and a graduate student at Indiana University. Oh, and he’ll be performing at Lotus, too.
Lotus Assistant Director LuAnne Holladay caught Bernard on the first day of classes at IU, fresh from a summer at home in Ghana.
LuAnne Holladay, for Lotus:
You spent the whole summer working and teaching at the arts center you founded. Tell us a bit about what you do there.
Bernard works with students in a singing class
Bernard Woma:
The [Dagara Music & Arts Center in Medie, a suburb of Accra] just celebrated its tenth year. This summer, we had more than 70 Americans, both professors and students, as well as academics from Europe and Japan. We don’t have what you’d call “mainstream,” highly structured classes. We teach hands-on drumming and dance, singing, and other arts. Students also have the chance to go into the field and do research. Over the years, it’s become a focus for education, research, and tourism.
Lotus:
At the same time, you’re a graduate student here at IU.
Learning to drum at the Dagara Center for Music and Arts
Bernard:
I’m in the second year of a Master’s Degree in African Studies. I have a professional career as a performer and a teacher, and I’m simply using education to support that career. I love to teach, and the whole idea of going back to school is to back up the skills and experience I already had.
Lotus:
Please tell us a bit about your music — you play what we would call a xylophone.
Bernard:
In English, it would be xylophone, but the traditional name is gyil [pronounced "jeel"]. It’s made of redwood and gourds with holes drilled in them. The holes are covered with empty spider egg casings — they are like thin paper — to create resonance. It’s an amazing buzzing sound. You feel it deep in your body.
Look closely at the gourds beneath the redwood planks, and you'll see the white spider egg cases.
Lotus:
Those must be some large egg casings.
Bernard:
Yes. From African spiders. [laughs]
Lotus:
Do you make your own instruments?
Bernard:
Oh, yes. As a player, you have to learn to make your own instrument. It’s an art. Making a gyil can take years. Gourds are only grown at certain times of the year, and have to ripen; you have to wait for a tree to fall, and then wait for the wood to dry. If you happen to have all of the materials right at hand, it could take a few months, but that’s rare. It can take as long as five years to complete a gyil.
Lotus:
Coming back to Lotus, tell us about the dancers who’ll be part of your performance. The Saakumu [pronounced SAAH-ku-mu] Dance Troupe is part of your work in Ghana at the Dagara Music and Arts Center.
Bernard:
Yes, they’re the resident company at the center, and nine or ten of them will be coming for Lotus. While the focus is traditional Ghanaian dance, West African dance cuts across many regional traditions. [Members of the troupe are pictured in the image at the top of this post.]
Lotus:
For people who aren’t familiar with Ghanaian music and dance, and haven’t seen you perform, how would you describe Bernard Woma and the Saakumu Dance Troupe?
Bernard:
Unlike electric or amplified music you might experience at Lotus, our music is energy-driven and centered in tradition, and highly participatory. You’ll hear the real thing, and we’ll get you up and dancing.
Bernard (in front) with a few of his students
See Bernard Woma and the Saakumu Dance troupe at the 2010 Lotus World Music and Arts Festival at on Friday evening and at Lotus in the Park. Visit Bernard’s site to discover more about his life, music, and the Dagara Music and Arts Center.
Bernard’s peformances at Lotus are underwritten in part by Women of Lotus and the IU African Studies Program.
