Participating in CARE's 2008 National Conference, Antoinette and Sena met with members of congress to advocate for Women's rights by encouraging support for the International Domestic Violence Act.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Antoinette and Sena with Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez in Washington D.C. June 2008
Participating in CARE's 2008 National Conference, Antoinette and Sena met with members of congress to advocate for Women's rights by encouraging support for the International Domestic Violence Act.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Antoinette and Sena to Join CARE in support of W/A Women's empowerment
Antoinette Kudoto will perform at the 2008 CARE National Conference in Washington, D.C. Accompanied by her 19-year-old daughter, she will be featured along with guest speakers Professor Jeffrey Sachs and David Gregory, NBC Chief White House Correspondent. Kudoto will join CARE leaders and supporters to advocate for policies that empower women in developing countries, including those concerning maternal health in Sub-Saharan West Africa.
“This is a very important event for me and my daughter,” says Kudoto, who, in 1998, founded Nyame Tease, a drum and dance troupe in her Cape Coast community catering to underprivileged youth. “In Ghana, many young girls get pregnant and they don’t go to hospitals because they cannot afford to pay the bills. They need to get the right education about how to care for themselves and they need to know they have our support. All of this begins with fighting poverty and illiteracy.”
-Sam Bathrick
“This is a very important event for me and my daughter,” says Kudoto, who, in 1998, founded Nyame Tease, a drum and dance troupe in her Cape Coast community catering to underprivileged youth. “In Ghana, many young girls get pregnant and they don’t go to hospitals because they cannot afford to pay the bills. They need to get the right education about how to care for themselves and they need to know they have our support. All of this begins with fighting poverty and illiteracy.”
-Sam Bathrick
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Antoinette Kudoto Bio
About Antoinette Kudoto
In many parts of Ghana and throughout West Africa, it has been considered a taboo for a woman to become a master drummer. Traditional beliefs about spirits living within certain drums laid claim that women who touched these sacred instruments would become barren--lost members of African societies. Breaking from her culture's traditions Kudoto has risen through the ranks of a male-dominated traditional music scene in Ghana to become one of the most renowned master drummers and teachers in her field.
Antoinette Adwoa Kudoto was born and raised in Cape Coast, Ghana. She has been drumming since childhood and at the age of thirteen and for the next five years she studied and performed with Nana Kwamena Kum, master drummer and artist in residence at St. Monica’s Girls’ School in Ghana. During that period Adwoa’s talent was evident and she was nurtured and tutored by Ghana’s best drummers. In 2000 Adwoa was selected by the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ACRAG) as Ghana’s Outstanding Female Master Drummer, stating she was “the only versatile female master drummer with obvious dexterity; skilled in traditional Ghanaian drumming including djembe percussion.” In fact, the state of Ghana official website lists Antoinette Kudoto as Ghana’s first and only female master drummer.
Over the past twenty years Adwoa has performed extensively as a drummer and instructor at the Center for Intercultural and Talent Development, Cape Coast. She is also the founder and director of the Nyame Tsease African Traditionals where she directs a drum and dance djembe ensemble and provides workshops for visiting American and other foreign University students. Attendees at her workshops who have traveled from the US include University of Michigan, Minnesota and Long Beach, CA.
Adwoa has been a visiting artist and educator in Denmark and in the United States. In 2004 she taught courses at the University of Michigan in drumming, dancing, singing and understanding of traditional African rhythms. In 2006 she taught a similar course at Long Beach State University and in 2007 she taught an intermediate course in Ghanaian drumming and performed in Sebastopol, CA.
“Becoming a master drummer as a woman, it wasn’t easy—but I see it as a privilege and now I have a responsibility, “says Kudoto. “My plan is to train girls to come out as master drummers, to be accepted socially and to take drumming as their career. To live with drumming and then for people to accept them as human beings.”
In many parts of Ghana and throughout West Africa, it has been considered a taboo for a woman to become a master drummer. Traditional beliefs about spirits living within certain drums laid claim that women who touched these sacred instruments would become barren--lost members of African societies. Breaking from her culture's traditions Kudoto has risen through the ranks of a male-dominated traditional music scene in Ghana to become one of the most renowned master drummers and teachers in her field.
Antoinette Adwoa Kudoto was born and raised in Cape Coast, Ghana. She has been drumming since childhood and at the age of thirteen and for the next five years she studied and performed with Nana Kwamena Kum, master drummer and artist in residence at St. Monica’s Girls’ School in Ghana. During that period Adwoa’s talent was evident and she was nurtured and tutored by Ghana’s best drummers. In 2000 Adwoa was selected by the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ACRAG) as Ghana’s Outstanding Female Master Drummer, stating she was “the only versatile female master drummer with obvious dexterity; skilled in traditional Ghanaian drumming including djembe percussion.” In fact, the state of Ghana official website lists Antoinette Kudoto as Ghana’s first and only female master drummer.
Over the past twenty years Adwoa has performed extensively as a drummer and instructor at the Center for Intercultural and Talent Development, Cape Coast. She is also the founder and director of the Nyame Tsease African Traditionals where she directs a drum and dance djembe ensemble and provides workshops for visiting American and other foreign University students. Attendees at her workshops who have traveled from the US include University of Michigan, Minnesota and Long Beach, CA.
Adwoa has been a visiting artist and educator in Denmark and in the United States. In 2004 she taught courses at the University of Michigan in drumming, dancing, singing and understanding of traditional African rhythms. In 2006 she taught a similar course at Long Beach State University and in 2007 she taught an intermediate course in Ghanaian drumming and performed in Sebastopol, CA.
“Becoming a master drummer as a woman, it wasn’t easy—but I see it as a privilege and now I have a responsibility, “says Kudoto. “My plan is to train girls to come out as master drummers, to be accepted socially and to take drumming as their career. To live with drumming and then for people to accept them as human beings.”
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
NY Drumming Workshops June 14 & 15, 2008
Click the image below to view at full size.
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
Date: Saturday June 14th & Sunday June 15th
Place: Reboot @ 37 Avenue A (between E. 2nd and E. 3rd)
Times SAT/SUN 12-2 pm Beginner Classes SAT/SUN 2:30-4:30 pm Intermediate Classes
Private and group lessons also Available.
Please RSVP: olargengo@hotmail.com or call 707-545-478/707-235-2033.
Date: Saturday June 14th & Sunday June 15th
Place: Reboot @ 37 Avenue A (between E. 2nd and E. 3rd)
Times SAT/SUN 12-2 pm Beginner Classes SAT/SUN 2:30-4:30 pm Intermediate Classes
Private and group lessons also Available.
Please RSVP: olargengo@hotmail.com or call 707-545-478/707-235-2033.
Monday, May 12, 2008
June 22, 2008: Mullberry Fields Workshops (ATLANTA, GA)
Ghana's award-winning female master drummer, Antoinette Kudoto, and her daughter will be conducting workshops on June 22, 2008 at the Mullberry Fields Community Garden (1307 Iverson Street ; Atlanta, GA 30307) from 2-4 pm.
All levels welcome.
Please RSVP: olargengo@hotmail.com or call 707-545-4781/707-235-2033.
Please RSVP: olargengo@hotmail.com or call 707-545-4781/707-235-2033.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Antoinette Teaching In Ghana
Over ten years ago, Antoinette founded the cultural troupe Nyame Tsease to support underprivileged children in her local community in Cape Coast. Here Antoinette is teaching stick drumming to a young Ghanaian boy in her group.
“So, now I have a group of my own, Nyame Tease. I teach them our traditional music and dance. I focus on children between the ages of eight and 18 years who are from very poor homes and thus their parents cannot cater for them and their education. I train them and we go out for performances to provide some little income to support each other."
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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