Ghanaian Scholar (Odadee) Wins International Award For Musicology

Professor Kofi Agawu of Princeton University, USA has been awarded the Frank Llewellyn Harrison Medal for 2009 by the Society for Musicology in Ireland. The award was presented to Professor Agawu at the joint plenary conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland and the Royal Musical Association in the Freemasons’ Hall, Dublin on 10 July 2009. Professor Jan Smaczny, President of the Society, welcomed Agawu to Dublin, noting “the reach and excellence of his scholarship.”

Named in honour of one of Ireland’s most distinguished musicologists, the Harrison Medal “recognizes musical scholarship of international distinction; it honours the highest musicological endeavour and salutes the leadership the candidate has exerted on the international musicological community.” This is only the third time that the award has been made. Previous recipients are Professor Christoph Wolff of Harvard University and Professor Margaret Bent of All Souls College, Oxford University. In his address to accompany the award, Professor Smaczny cited Agawu’s “remarkably pioneering” books, including Playing with Signs: A Semiotic Interpretation of Classic Music (1991), African Rhythm: A Northern Ewe Perspective (1995), Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions (2003) and Music as Discourse: Semiotic Adventures in Romantic Music (2008).

He singled out Playing with Signs, which received the Young Scholar Award from the Society for Music Theory in 1994, as “one of the books from the last twenty years that can genuinely be said to have changed the way the profession views the canon.” Smaczny concluded his address by noting that “Distinction has certainly followed Kofi Agawu throughout his career. Provocative enquiry, the challenge of fondly held nostrums and the assertions of the unwary or unprepared. There is a lucidity to Kofi Agawu’s writing that makes his work a model, not just for musical scholars, but for many others across the full range of the humanities.”

A native of Akpafu-Todzi, Professor Agawu attended the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, Legon and Achimota Schoool. He received his undergraduate degree from Reading University in the UK, his masters’ degree from King’s College, London, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has taught at Cornell, Harvard, Yale and King’s College, London and held visiting positions in Italy, Belgium, Holland, Hong Kong, the UK, South Africa, Canada and throughout the United States. He was awarded the Dent Medal in 1992 by the Royal Musical Association for distinguished contributions to musicology, and the Distinguished Visitor award by the School of Music at the University of Toronto in 2004. A Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Sciences since 2000, Professor Agawu is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Source: GHP

Let's support our NSMQ teachers

All;
The consistent performance of PRESEC in the annual National Maths and Science Quiz (NSMQ) competition has elevated the school, your Alma Mater, to the upper echelons of secondary education in Ghana (The only 5 time winner of the competition). The ingredients for this success can be found in the quality of the student pool at Presec and more cardinally, the faculty/teachers, who are responsible for coaching, preparing and mentoring the students who represent the school at the annual competition.

This selfless and dedicated group of teachers with the support of the headmaster organizes coaching sessions for the contestants at their own cost and on their own time to ensure the winning streak Presec has enjoyed in the prestigious competition.

As you can imagine, these teachers are poorly remunerated but their extreme affection for the school and their students in the face of poor working conditions and unsustainable salaries is a case study in focus, forbearance, altruism and dedication to their craft and PRESEC.

As a way of giving back to the school which is responsible for your success in life today, I suggest that we organize a fund raising drive to collect money for the teachers who are responsible for preparing the students for the annual NSMQ.

This initiative will show our appreciation for the important work this group of teachers is doing to elevate the status of our dear Alma Mater to stratospheric heights.

If you are moved to encourage the above referenced teachers to continue to perform their winning formula for PRESEC, please send a check to me at the address below.

The funds will be managed in a transparent manner and I will ensure that the total amount collected will be received by this wonderful group of teachers. I will also circulate a list of contributors to the group.

I start the ball rolling by contributing $100 to the NSMQ teachers at PRESEC

Please feel free to make any suggestions that will enhance this initiative and forward this posting to all Odadees you are in contact with.

Hopefully, this initiative will light a Promethean Fire in Odadees and shake us out of our apathy and lethargy. It will also encourage the teachers to intensify their efforts and ensure that the NSMQ becomes the exclusive preserve of PRESEC.

Please send any contribution for the PRESEC NSMQ teachers to

Sam Addo
10960 South Kimball Bridge Crossing
Alpharetta, GA 30022

Sincerely;
Sam Addo - Odadee 1976

Presec wins 2009 National Science & Maths quiz (5th trophy)

Your beloved Presby Boys' Secondary (Senior High) School, Legon won the National Science & Maths quiz this year for an unprecedented 5th time.

The day was June 24, 2009, and Presec defended their title while defeating Achimota Senior High School (Motown) in the final. The gentlemen who made history for PRESEC were Asala Jeffrey, Adu-Poku Frank and Dzidzienyo Prosper.

Congrats to the team and the Presec family everywhere.

Wharton School - Accra Info Session

Got an MBA on your mind? Get the scoop at La Palm, Royale, Accra, Ghana from 3.30-6.00pm on November 09, 2008. Just drop by the Kundum Conference Room, after you pre-register here. Seating is limited for this great opportunity.