UW’s percussion ensemble presented From the Roots at the Buchanan Performing Arts Center with guest performer SK Kakraba. Conducted by Andy Wheelock, the performance of experimental and traditional percussive sounds explored the origins of the art and their lasting impact on the present.
“Essentially, our program is trying to trace our heritage as percussionists back from current times, all the way back to our roots for a lot of our music, which is from Ghana, Africa and Africa in general.” Conductor Dr. Andy Wheelock said of the concert.
This musical journey in time began with a 2021 piece entitled Snake Oil which was described by its composer as a “healing dance that doesn’t work” and featured as few as 7 musicians playing two or three instruments each.
Sounds from Ogoun Badagris furthered the eerie tone, and Ritmica 5&6, considered by the music community to be the first percussion ensemble piece ever written, explored fundamental Afro-Cuban instrumentation and rhythms in unique arrangement.
With support from the Laramie High School Percussion Ensemble and Dr. Greg Harris, the concert continued to progress through African and Latin influenced sounds in Highlife and One Hand culminating in a drum circle led by Dr. Harris.
Ghanian Musician and master of the traditional gyil instrument SK Kakraba kicked off the final act of the concert. Kakraba is a second generation gyil player continuing his father’s legacy of bringing the sounds of his home to a global audience.
The gyil is distinguished as a traditional funeral instrument which may be played for days at a time by many different musicians. As demonstrated by master percussionist SK Kakraba, the instrument can create hypnotic repetitive melodies accompanied by a unique buzzing sound which is a defining characteristic of the gyil.
After working closely with Kakraba for many days in preparation for the concert, Soloists Taylor Saunders and Bryce Schlachter shared the impact of his teachings and their takeaways from the performance.
“I just had a lot of fun.” Saunders said.
“SK is amazing and to actually learn from someone born in Ghana– he grew up with this music. So it’s really cool to be surrounded by it and have this opportunity to do this.”
Fellow Jazz Performance Major Bryce Schlachter agreed, saying,
“SK is incredible. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that happened here. I’m just grateful to be here; to be able to play music at a high level, to soak it all in, enjoy and learn.
