This booklet on the Creative Potential of African Music in Ghana: A Personal Testimony is dedicated to the memory of Professor Albert Mawere Opoku for his unique contribution to Dance Theatre in Ghana, his close collaboration with colleagues in artistic research projects, and his enthusiastic and encouraging interest in the creative work of artists in cognate fields. Nothing would have pleased him more than to be part of the launch of the four volumes of CD recordings of a selection of my musical works, for he was always making cassette dubbings of my music for his friends. I believe that this Companion Booklet will be of interest not only to his circle of friends but also to other music lovers, students and the general public.

With this readership in mind, the scope of the booklet has been limited to a few personal observations. It does not tell the complete story of African Art Music in Ghana or Africa in general, something I hope our younger scholars will work on as scores and other sources of data become available. It is simply the story of an individual composer and his works, his reflections and comments on his experience as an African composer, which he presents in conjunction with the CD recordings of his works as testimonies of the creative potential of African art music. For a fuller and more objective account of my life and work, I would like to refer readers to Eric Akrofi: Sharing Knowledge and Experience: A Profile of J. H. Kwabena Nketia (Afram Publications 2003) and Akin Euba: Creative Musicology: A Study of J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Centre for Intercultural Studies, Berkeley.