Rev. Bro Pius Kweku Agyeman, SVD, a prolific Catholic Composer has been honoured for his selfless dedication to music in the Catholic Liturgy and other forms of music in Ghana.
To celebrate his achievements, the maiden edition of “Time with the prolific catholic composer,” a singing competition among Catholic Basic School was held to unearth the unique talents of the pupils was held on Thursday October 3 at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra.
The occasion was attended by the Grace chorale international and Adehyemma Sacred Music Choral Group, led by Bro Pius.
The program which was organized by the Catholic Education Unit in Partnership with Youth Link Ghana was under the patronage of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Bonaventure Kwofie, Cssp and under the theme, “Our Heritage Our Faith.”
Speaking at the event, Most Rev. Bonaventure Kwofie, expressed his appreciation to Bro. Pius for his exploits in the music industry.
“He meant a lot to me even before I knew him,” he said.
The prelate urged the participating students to discover their gift and use it to serve the society.
Minister for Sanitation & Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaa, who represented H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, lauded the initiative, describing it as the first of its kind to “celebrate a great man of music who specializes in the music that links to the African Heritage”.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaa said music is an expression of emotion and a way to connect with the spirit divine and that “music helps with the mastering of memorization” which is appropriate to helping children stay engaged and focused.
She described Rev Bro. Pius Agyeman SVD as a prolific dedicated musicologist whose special area is raising choirs and according to her it is only when you effectively link music to Heritage that people appreciate music”.
For his part, the Vicar General of Accra, Very Rev. Fr. John K. Louis, praised Rev. Bro Pius Kweku Agyeman, SVD’s contribution to Catholic music in Ghana has been tremendous. He added that the event is a platform for fostering the development of musical talents in young people and to promote catholic values among pupils and students.
THE SINGING COMPETITION
Participating schools included Christ the King R/C basic school, Corpus Christi R/C basic school, Cantonments, Corpus Christi R/C basic school, Sakumono, Mary Mother of Good Counsel R/C basic school, Jesus and Mary R/C basic school, Achimota, Ave Maria R/C basic school, Dansoman, Queen of Peace R/C basic school, Madina, St. Silvanus R/C basic school, Pokuase, St. Charles Lwanga R/C basic school, Abeka, St. Theresa R/C basic school, Kaneshie, Holy Child R/C basic school, Sakumono, St. Mark R/C basic school, Ashongman Estate and St. Francis Xavier R/C basic school, Kotobabi.
Each school choir took turns to sing the Africa compulsory song composed by Rev. Bro Pius Kweku Agyeman, SVD and two other optional songs.
St. Mark R/C basic school, Ashongman Estate placed first, while St. Silvanus R/C basic school, Pokuase and St. Francis Xavier R/C basic school, Kotobabi took the second and third position respectively.
Special awards went to well danced choir- St. Silvanus R/C basic school, Pokuase and the best conductor of the choir went to St. Francis Xavier R/C basic school, Kotobabi
A citation and a birthday cake were presented to the birthday celebrant by the SRC of Catholic Institute of Business and Technology, Cibt.
Source: Juliette E. Manomey // DEPSOCOM
