About Abusua


	What is Abusua? Abusua is a West African drumming and dance ensemble. We perform traditional songs and dances from Ghana, West Africa. What does "Abusua" mean? "Abusua" (ah-BOO-soo-ah) means "family" in Twi, a variety of the Akan language spoken in Ghana. This alludes to an important quality of the Ghanaian music we perform: the ensemble of instruments can be thought of as a family, in which you have many different interdependent voices coming together as one. This is also a suitable name because we are such a tight-knit group of people. How do you learn your songs? Our director was the late Joseph Rasmussen, former professor of percussion here at Tennessee Tech. He taught all of the West African drum and dance classes. The club was formed in the Spring of 1991 after Professor Rasmussen returned from a leave-of-absence, during which he studied West African Music with Abraham Adzenyah at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and with the late Godwin Agbeli in Ghana, West Africa. The classes are now taught by two students of his, Meredith McMahan and Cale Koester. Approximately every two years we travel to Ghana to learn new songs and dances and bring back new instruments and costumes. Where do you perform? We have a final performance once every semester in the Wattenbarger Auditorium of the Bryan Fine Arts building at Tennessee Tech. We also perform extensively in schools around the area, and have performed at events such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and the Music Educator's National Convention. In addition, a variety of guest artists have performed with us. Check the News page often for info about upcoming events. Who do I contact about performances? If you would like Abusua to perform at your event or organization, please email us. I have comments or questions about the information on this website. This website was created and is maintained by former Abusua vice-president Brad Schroeder. All pages validate as html 4.01 according to the w3c.

What is Abusua?

Abusua is a West African drumming and dance ensemble. We perform traditional songs and dances from Ghana, West Africa.

What does "Abusua" mean?

"Abusua" (ah-BOO-soo-ah) means "family" in Twi, a variety of the Akan language spoken in Ghana. This alludes to an important quality of the Ghanaian music we perform: the ensemble of instruments can be thought of as a family, in which you have many different interdependent voices coming together as one. This is also a suitable name because we are such a tight-knit group of people.

How do you learn your songs?

Our director was the late Joseph Rasmussen, former professor of percussion here at Tennessee Tech. He taught all of the West African drum and dance classes. The club was formed in the Spring of 1991 after Professor Rasmussen returned from a leave-of-absence, during which he studied West African Music with Abraham Adzenyah at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and with the late Godwin Agbeli in Ghana, West Africa. The classes are now taught by two students of his, Meredith McMahan and Cale Koester. Approximately every two years we travel to Ghana to learn new songs and dances and bring back new instruments and costumes.

Where do you perform?

We have a final performance once every semester in the Wattenbarger Auditorium of the Bryan Fine Arts building at Tennessee Tech. We also perform extensively in schools around the area, and have performed at events such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and the Music Educator's National Convention. In addition, a variety of guest artists have performed with us. Check the News page often for info about upcoming events.

Who do I contact about performances?

If you would like Abusua to perform at your event or organization, please email us.

I have comments or questions about the information on this website.

This website was created and is maintained by former Abusua vice-president Brad Schroeder. All pages validate as html 4.01 according to the w3c.