Alabaster Box, Ghana?s Cultural Ambassadors in UK

Alabaster Box Though internationally acclaimed Ghanaian Acappella quartet, Alabaster Box are not on any national assignment, news filtering in indicate that they are seriously marketing Ghana in the UK, where they are currently on tour.

The quartet, which emplaned for the UK just at the beginning of this month at the invitation of the Bath Christian Trust and some churches, has already become the toast of their UK audience.

Alabaster Box, who would continue to the USA in May for a similar tour, announced their arrival in the city of Bath with an exclusive concert dubbed ?Live at the Forum at the forum with Alabaster Box, an evening of African Gospel Accapella?. 

This concert was held in the City of Bath, outside London where one hardly sees blacks, leader of the group Samuel Dowuona excitedly shared with The Independent.
The concert was facilitated by a gentleman called Jerry Curd in collaboration with the Bath Christian Trust.

Currently, Alabaster is still in Bath where they will stay for one more week, visiting 15 white schools and performing for them. Further sharing enthusiastically with this reporter how their brand of music is amassing great following each day for the country, Sammy said ?We also teach them about Ghana, our culture, weather and general way of living. We have become cultural ambassadors spreading Ghana's culture in British schools.?

He shared the view that government and the Ghana High Commission in UK should assist them to teach Ghana?s culture abroad, as they have whipped up so much enthusiasm of the British in Ghanaian culture. ?Could you believe that we got a whole school - Bishop Henderson Primary School, marching like soldiers to their various classes because we told them in Ghana pupils march to their classes from morning assembly instead of just walking as they do in England?? he shared.

?We also taught a song at Saint Gregory's College and they sung it so well you would think they are Ghanaians,? Alabaster Box further shared with this paper. Samuel Dowuona noted that in view of their growing popularity, several schools have already started booking them for workshops in the future.

The group disclosed that they have been booked to go to Gordonstoun Schools in Scotland where Prince Charles as well as Princess Anne's children schooled. ?We would be there between April 25 - 27, 2005. We will perform two concerts and hold a workshop for the students, during which we will be teaching them Ghanaian traditional and patriotic songs.

We will also teach them about Ghana,? they intimated. Making their visit to the Gordonstoun Schools possible is a parent of a student in the school who does business in Ghana, Deborah Eleazer. The four man Afroppella group revealed, ?Deborah heard our CD in Ghana and thought we had something unique, which could benefit students at Gordonstoun Schools.?
The Alabaster Box plans coming out with a documentary of their activities in the schools to show what 'small' groups like theirs are doing to help promote Ghanaian culture abroad.

Back in London they are booked to appear on BBC's Focus on Africa anytime between March 14 and the 31st of March and also be part of a major conference called the Integrity Conference at Trinity Baptist Church between March 27 and April 4.

There are other concerts being put up by Praise Chapel, Willesden Green Baptist Church and others exclusively for the group in London before they leave to the US on May 1.