Admirers of the music of the Pan African Orchestra (PAO) must be smiling now because they have had to wait for almost five years for an opportunity to see the innovative group in action once more.

The PAO’s last major public performance was in October 2003 at the British Council Auditorium in Accra. It has since then been inactive due to what the founder, director and conductor Nana Danso Abiam describes as ‘budgetary and resource shortfalls.’

The gratifying news is that the orchestra returns to the British Council Auditorium tomorrow, May 2 at 7.00pm for what it calls A Night of Neo-Classical African Music.

Kologo player and international artiste, Atongo Zimba and percussinist Nii Yartey are the featured guests at the concert.

A statement from the PAO said the evening’s programme is “meant to showcase the orchestra to corporate bodies, Foundations, statespersons, stakeholders in the music industry, the diplomatic corps, music institutions and friends of the orchestra.”

Nana Danso Abiam, who was once the Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, started the PAO in 1988 with the main aim of exploring the classical foundations of African music.

Employing instruments like the gonje, gyile (xylphone), assorted percussion and atenteben flutes, the PAO managed to establish itself in international circles as the leading exponent of neo-classical African music.

It travelled extensively in Europe and fascinated audiences with its extensive repertoire. The PAO’s maiden album, Pan African Orchestra-Opus One, topped the New World Music Chart in the United States for six weeks when it was released in 1996.

Nana Danso, who is an adept on the atenteben flute, studied music at the University of Ghana and at Vincent University in France. He nurtured the PAO into a world-class unit.

Through his passion for African musical concepts, indigenous African instruments which had never been combined before in a single piece were made to blend in captivating tunes rendered by musicians interpreting the music through special symbols.

Keeping the orchestra together, however, became an extremely difficult task and he decided to move on to other projects.

According to him, it was his political orientation and and strong belief that the African can excel with an orchestra of indigenous African intruments which moved him to start the orchestra.

He is still convinced that Ghana and Africa needs an orchestra like the PAO and is keen to see it up and running again.

“Working with the orchestra has been very interesting in terms of research findings. We have been able to standardise pitches of the various instruments so it is now possible to play and stay in tune.

We, however, need regular funding to pay professional fees to the musicians, acquire and maintain instruments, undertake projects like recordings and live performances and also be able to work with musicians from outside Ghana.

“Right now in Africa, we are thinking of clean water for the masses and how to reduce poverty. Talking about a unique approach to African music therefore becomes a problem but with the appropriate funding we should be able to survive like any other state-funded dance or drama group.”

Tomorrow’s concert of neo-classical Africaan music, which will be chaired by Nana Akufo-Addo, Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is supported by Akosombo Textiles Limited and Coca Cola Nigeria & Equitorial Africa Limited.