Ghana Drumming

Kofi Quarshie was born in Accra in 1970. He began serious training as a percussionist at the age of five. By the time he was nine, he was regarded as a child prodigy and performed with the professional Twiana Cultural Group. He completed his professional training with Mustapha Tettey Addy, one of the most famous drummers in West Africa. Quarshie has travelled throughout Africa as well as Europe and the United States on his concert tours. He has accompanied Lizzy Hammond, also known as »Mama Africa«, on her numerous tours. He is currently based in Austria where he works as a solo drummer at the Bregenzer Festspiele.

With his percussion skills Kofi Quarshie participates in various formations (from jazz to funk and dub), however, with his Agoo Group, he is fully committed to the traditional cultural heritage of his home country. The ensemble’s breathtaking concerts are performed on instruments such as the Ghanaian kpanlogo, a barrel-shaped drum, and the oprentedrum, which is made of the wood from the tweneboa tree. The Agoo Group and its charismatic bandleader convey a pure West African sense of life as well as the diversity and wealth of Ghanaian music.