Obituary: Dr. william Komla Amoaku (1940 - 2012)

Dear Friends,

 

Please find below information sent to us by Dr. George W. K. Dor about the passing away of our dear colleague and friend, Dr. William Komla Amoaku (1940 - 2012).

 

Dr. William Komla Amoaku received his PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA with Professor Fela Sowande as his Dissertation Advisor in 1975; earned his Master of Music in Musicology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; studied under Carl Orff at Orff Institute, Salzburg, Austria (1967).

 

He was the Executive Director of the Ghana National Theatre, and he earlier held teaching and/or administrative positions at Central State University, California, among others.

 

The burial and final funeral rites for the late Prof. Amoaku will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012 in Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.

 

Contact persons for further information about funeral arrangements are Professor Kofi Agawu (kagawu@princeton.edu) and Professor Kofi Anyidoho (k.anyidoho@gmail.com) [in Ghana].

 

For further details of his life and to express condolences, please Google any of the following information:

1) Prof William Komla Amoaku PhD. (1940 - 2012) - ForeverMissed.com

2) Memories of Prof William Komla Amoaku. PhD. (1940 - 2012)

3) Dr. William Komla Amoaku - Homepage - Legacy Memorial

4) Dr. Amoaku's Memorial Website

 

"Let your minds enter into the psychic corridors of traditional Africa and rediscover the true beauty of its art forms. Only then will your perceptions about African music be holistic and meaningful." —William Komla Amoaku.

 

May His Soul Rest in Perfect Peace.

Submissions

The African Music Special Interest Group is pleased to invite submissions for this weblog, which, along with the mailing list, serves as a central communication site for members. Any items of interest to members of the Special Interest Group, including conference announcements, calls for abstracts, events, descriptions of research or publications, and similar newsworthy items, can be sent to the web master, Nicol Hammond, at africanmusicictm (at) gmail (dot) com, and/or posted directly to the mailing list by sending an email to ictmamsg (at) googlegroups (dot) com, or by visiting the google group at http://groups.google.com/group/ictmamsg. You can join the google group by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/ictmamsg.

Proposed Elimination of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago

Posted on behalf of Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje:
If you have not heard, the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) at Columbia College in Chicago may be eliminated because of lack of funding.

If you click on the link below, you will find a statement providing more details. At the end of the statement, there is a sample letter that individuals can use they would like to send communication to Columbia College administrators requesting that they find ways to save CBMR.


http://www.soul4sale.org/2012/03/07/call-for-action-help-save-the-center-for-black-music-research/


For additional information, please read the following:

-----Original Message-----
From: Nelson-Strauss, Brenda [mailto:bnelsons@INDIANA.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 11:18 AM
Subject: Chicago's Center for Black Music Research targeted for elimination

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune ran an article by Howard Reich, "A Blow to Black Music in Chicago," outlining Columbia College Interim Provost Louise Love's recommendations to eliminate a number of programs, including the Center for Black Music Research and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-0306-columbia-closings-20120305,0,4402331.column

Another report was released yesterday by Columbia College:

http://columbiachronicle.com/interim-provost-ranks-programs-proposes-new-departments/

As Reich points out, "No other institution on the planet studies, archives, documents, disseminates, records and performs music from the vast diaspora of African-American culture as comprehensively as the Center for Black Music Research. And precious few ensembles in America regularly perform jazz orchestral works - historic and brand new - as brilliantly or innovatively as the Chicago Jazz Ensemble."   In addition to archival holdings and many fine publications, the CBMR has also hosted conferences in Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, St. Louis, and Trinidad and Tobago, and recently organized symposiums on Michael Jackson and Ray Charles.

Part of the problem seems to lie in Columbia College's administrative structure- the CBMR and CJE fall under the Office of Academic Research, rather than the Music Department. Perhaps saner minds will prevail now that the report has been made public, and the programs will be folded into the Music Department. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to write letters in support of the CBMR can address them to:


Louise Love, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs/Interim Provost llove@colum.edu<mailto:llove@colum.edu<mailto:llove@colum.edu%3cmailto:llove@colum.edu>>


Eliza Nichols, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Fine & Performing Arts
enichols@colum.edu<mailto:enichols@colum.edu<mailto:enichols@colum.edu%3cmailto:enichols@colum.edu


And here is the link to the main CBMR website: http://www.colum.edu/CBMR//index.php<http://www.colum.edu/CBMR/index.php<http://www.colum.edu/CBMR/index.php%3chttp:/www.colum.edu/CBMR/index.php>>


Brenda Nelson-Strauss
Archives of African American Music & Culture Indiana University
2805 E. 10th Street, Suite 180
Bloomington, IN 47408
www.blackgrooves.org<http://www.blackgrooves.org>
http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc/
bnelsons@indiana.edu<mailto:bnelsons@indiana.edu>

ICTM online bulletin

Alvin Petersen, the secretary of the African Music Study Group of the ICTM, is seeking submissions on any African music initiative that might be of interest to the members of the ICTM. If members have completed dissertations/books/articles in journals, etc. these could also be listed in the bulletin. Please contact him directly, or leave a comment on this post if you have any items for submission.