When did you begin studying music?

As a child of Ghanaian immigrants, I grew up with lots of musical traditions, but I actually began studying music in 7th grade, when I was introduced to the Ukulele for the very first time! I had some experience playing West African percussion and dancing; however, this was the first instrument I ever fully took seriously, and it is still my primary instrument today!

Who are some of your favorite composers or musicians?

A major part of why I play music today is that I always resonated so deeply with the music from the video games my older brothers and I played when we were growing up! To this day, I still have a soft spot for music from the Pokémon series, other Nintendo games, and, most notably, for composer/pianist Yoko Shimomura, who composed for so many different games; I highly recommend checking her out!!

Do you play any other instruments?

Being a multi-instrumentalist is a huge part of my musicianship! While I do love to just sit and play the ukulele, I think it is incredibly valuable to learn other instruments and bring their perspectives to my primary instruments. Sometimes, I want to play the ukulele like it's a drum, and sometimes I want to play the drums like it’s a piano! Everything is so closely related when you really break it down, and so I love to perform on ukulele, bass guitar, and drum set as my primary 3!

When you're not teaching or performing, what do you like to do?

When I’m not teaching, I am either cooking, playing with my cat, or occasionally competing in video game tournaments! I really consider cooking to be just as much of a passion as music is! Food and music are two birds of the same feather, and I love creating new recipes, cooking traditional West African cuisine, baking, and sharing food with my family, friends, and community!

What do you hope students learn from studying music?

Above all, I hope that my students learn to have fun while studying music! Music is such a healing art; however, many people have bad experiences being forced into lessons or into studying music they aren’t interested in. I truly believe that there’s a style of music for every single person, and keeping your studies fun and enjoyable makes music more like a healing process! I think it’s so important to truly love whatever it is that you are studying, and with music, there’s just so much to love and have fun with!!

What do you like most about teaching?

My favorite part of teaching is that I also get to learn from my students! It’s so amazing to see all of these different perspectives, and to hear each of my students develop their own personal sound! It is so gratifying to see my students grow, and as they grow, they help me grow not only as a teacher, but as a musician as a whole!