George Spratz (right) in a pose with Komivi Randolph, sponsor of the workshop
Ghanaian guitar maestro, songwriter, composer and music teacher, George Spratz, felt a great sense of pride well up within on July 15, 2023 as he led a workshop on highlife for about 40 guitar players in the Togolese capital of Lome.
The participants were drawn from Togo, Benin and Ghana. As he stood before them and eloquently explained how highlife could be better projected globally, he knew the musical style regarded by many as Ghana’s gift to the world, was still anchored on solid ground.
Sponsored by Komivi Randolph’s US Originals Store in Lome, the workshop afforded the versatile Ghanaian musician an opportunity to take participants through a variety of rhythms and how they can be sustained to safeguard highlife.
He also touched on how instrumentalists could work to successfully bridge the gap between traditional African and contemporary musical approaches and how to improvise effectively in the highlife idiom.
“The workshop was meant to be a two-hour session but the participants enjoyed it so much that it stretched into a four-hour programme,” said the man who was once described by highlife luminary, Agya Koo Nimo, as “a phenomenal figure in the world of guitar improvisation.”
According to George Spratz, the workshop sponsor now wants similar sessions held in Nigeria, Benin and Togo again, all in a bid to get more West African musicians to better understand highlife and help in its propagation to more territories around the globe.
As part of his trip to Lome, George Spratz was a special guest at this year’s Elevation live Christian worship programme on July 16. The annual event is a not-to-be-missed occasion for both Christians and general music lovers in Lome to enjoy some inspirational, well-rendered stuff.
George Spratz, who is an ordained pastor with the Gentle Ministry and Prayer Camp in Kumasi, was a guest to observe and comment on the show. Well-known Togolese singer, gospel recording artiste, worship leader and songwriter, Mawuto Tetey was one of the performers at the concert which turned out to be a truly exciting live experience.
“My main comments at the end of proceedings was that Elevation is a beautiful Christian programme that must be supported by all who can, to go global,” George Spratz stated.
Apart from his widely-followed music lessons on Youtube, George Spratz also teaches music in schools and churches and has collaborated with several contemporary Ghanaian acts, including Okyeame Kwame and Morris Babyface.
He was grateful to Komivi Randolph of US Originals Store for sponsoring his trip to Togo and the opportunity also to perform for children at the Adepoma orphanage run by Ocloo Komla Golovi in Lome.
By George Clifford Owusu