An English doctor recommended to Dutiro’s parents the name Chartwell, which came from Winston Churchill’s summer home. Chartwell attended primary school in Glendale, but eventually quit his formal education in the seventh grade. As a boy he was very interested in music. The Salvation Army had a band in Glendale, and Dutiro played a coronet in the group. However, he became a passionate player of the mbira thumb piano as well. His two brothers, Charles and Chikomborero played the mbira at bira religious ceremonies and Dutiro often missed Sunday school because he was too tired from playing the mbira on Saturday nights His cousin Davies Masango played in a police band and managed to recruit Dutiro to join a music group put together by the white settler government of Rhodesia to try to placate Africans during the long guerilla war for independence in the 1970s The band toured villages ...
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Emmanuel Asiedu-Acquah
folk musician and ethnomusicologist, was born on 3 October 1934 in the Asante village of Foase in colonial era Ghana He was named Daniel Amponsah at birth His musically inclined parents were an early influence on him His father Kwame Amponsah played the trumpet and guitar while his mother sang in the choir at the local Methodist church Through his sister s marriage to a member of the Ashanti royal family the preteen Koo Nimo moved to Kumasi the capital of the Asante kingdom His stay in Kumasi and his proximity to Asante royalty immersed him in the cultural lore and traditions of the Asante and by extension the Akan This cultural immersion was to become an important influence in his music He had his secondary school education at the prestigious Adisadel College in Cape Coast His postsecondary education was in the sciences and he always maintained a professional ...
