West Africa Performing Arts Festival 2007

This November a group of 20 singers directed by Ms. Cindi Verrill traveled to Accra, Ghana in West Africa to participate in the West African Choral Festival. They arrived with suitcases filled with donations from their local community in New Hampshire for the school in the small rural village they would visit.

Not only did the choir sing and dance with local choirs, they also got some of the “flavor” of rural life in Ghana. Mrs. Verill was named honorary “Queen” of the village and then as the choir sang on stage in Suhum Cultural Center, the children flowed onto the floor to dance to the music. The choir took it all in, from the beautiful scenes with the children who warmly welcomed them at every turn to the challenges of getting used to “African Time” where everything (from concerts to church service on Sunday) starts 30 minutes later than planned

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Highlights of the adventure to Ghana included singing for the villagers, hearing wonderful Ghanaian choirs from across Ghana, and participating in workshops with Ghanaian drummers who tried to bring the rhythms of their country to their brothers and sisters from the USA.