Bessa Simons to expose the secrets of Osibisa

Ace musician Bessa Simons is to run a seminar on what it takes to go global with your brand in the music business at the Department of Music with the Legon Highlife Ensemble of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon on Thursday May 5 from 2 – 4pm.

The seminar is dubbed “Going Global with Your Music: The Osibisa Experience” and it will involve a session with students and musicians led by some founding members of Osibisa like Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio.

They will lead students in analyzing and interpreting the music of Osibisa and sharing some of the experiences from their hey days. The seminar will also have the students and musicians working on various forms of Osibisa music and approaches to the utilization of African rhythms in a global context for a cosmopolitan audience.

The seminar will climax with a free musical concert at the forecourt of the Department of Music of the School of Performing Arts featuring the Bessa Band and the Legon Highlife Ensemble. The whole event will be recorded for broadcast on radio, television and social media.

Bessa Simons is a forty year industry veteran who has played with all the big names in Ghana. He was a member of the Osibisa group during his stay in London and still works with the group on shows, coordinating the musical performances during Teddy Osei’s 80th birthday celebrations.

Bessa is also a celebrated producer having worked with leading musicians like the Tagoe Sisters, Pat Thomas, Papa Yankson among others. Bessa also doubles as the 1st Vice President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and a member of the Ghamro Board of Directors.

The “Going Global With Your Music: The Osibisa Experience” is under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and supported by the Ghana Culture Forum and the Legon Highlife Ensemble of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).

Bessa is assisted by a team including film maker George Bosompim, Eric Sunu Doe of the S.P.A and Ahuma Bosco Ocansey of MUSIGA.