
Bernard Woma (18 December 1966 - 27 April 2018) was a well-known
Dagara gyile player from
Upper West Ghana who spent many years teaching the instrument and introducing it to audiences around the world. He was born in the village of Hiineteng, in the Upper West Region. Bernard began playing the gyil around 2 years old, and as he grew older he became well known for his musical abilities. In 1982, Bernard, moved to Accra and began to play the gyil for the Dagara community. Where he was later offered the position as a xylophonist for Ghana's National Dance Company. In 1997, he founded and became the artistic director of Saakumu Dance Troupe in Ghana. Bernard's guidance and leadership, attracted many people from around the world to come study from him. He was then invited as a guest at the State University of New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and two master's degrees in African Studies and Ethnomusicology at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
.
He was xylophonist and lead drummer of the National Dance Company of Ghana and of Saakumu Dance Troupe. He performed with
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
,
South Dakota Symphony Orchestra
The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) is an American orchestra located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The SDSO gives its concerts principally in the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in downtown Sioux Falls. The official anthem of the ...
, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Albany Symphony Orchestra as well as Berliner Symphoniker in Berlin, Germany, and KwaZulu Natal Symphony Orchestra in Durban, South Africa. He performed his gyil concerto composition "Gyil Nyog Me Na" in 2006 at Zankel Hall in
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, New York.
[ He also founded Dagara Music and Arts Center in Accra, Ghana.
Signed to the Jumbie Records label, he released the live album ''Bernard Woma in Concert'' on the label in 2003. In 2009, he released the studio album ''Crossroad'' on the Chris Wabich label. He formed the Bernard Woma Ensemble with musicians Kofi Ameyaw and Mark Stone and master dancers Sulley Imoro and Peace Elewonu. Gyile is a type of ]West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
, with seventeen keys constructed over gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...
s. It holds a place in the musical traditions of the Dagara and Birifor people of northern Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
and southern Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
.
Woma was deeply committed to education, founding the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Accra, Ghana. The center became the hub for teaching traditional African instruments. In addition to his work in Ghana, Woma was a sought-after guest lecturer and teacher at universities and music institutions around the world. His teaching emphasized not only technical mastery but also the cultural and spiritual dimensions of African music. The center embodies his belief that cultural preservation required not just documentation, but active engagement and practical learning in an authentic environment.
Early life
Benard Woma was born in Hiineteng, a village in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He grew up in a culturally rich environment where music and storytelling played an integral role in community life. As a child, Woma demonstrated an extraordinary talent for the gyil, learning from his elders and becoming proficient at a young age. Woma's formal education included studies at the University of Ghana's School of Performing Arts, where he deepened his understanding of traditional and contemporary African music. He later pursued further studies abroad, earning advanced degrees in ethnomusicology and performance.
Bernard Woma Impact
Bernard Woma had an immense impact on the music world and cultural exchange. He did much at SUNY Fredonia to support collaborations between staff like Kay Stonefelt, Professor and Chair of Fredonia's Percussion Area, in shaping the African drumming program here at the university. Unique teaching style by Woma-though he was firm in dedication, he is soft in his approach, joined with a dose of humor, earned him admiration from the students and his colleagues alike. He has a very infectious energy; he would say things like, "Bad dancing never hurt the ground," to encourage his students that with mistakes comes learning. Outside of Fredonia, Woma was artistic director of the Saakumu Dance Troupe of Ghana, a master drummer for the Ghana Dance Company at the National Theatre. He toured the world- performing and holding workshops- with such iconic individuals as Maya Angelou and Yo-Yo Ma, and he entertained- such world leaders as Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Woma's legacy as a mentor and cultural ambassador continues to inspire musicians worldwide, shaping both the academic and artistic communities that he touched.
Bernard Woma Preserving Culture Through Music
Bernard Woma is celebrated for his mastery and use of traditional African instruments, specifically the gyil, a single-row xylophone that is a symbol of Dagara's cultural identity. Newborn Woma was born with both fists clenched as if he were holding mallets, which in his culture symbolized and foreshadowed his passion and success as a musician. Born into a family with a love for music and dance, his grandfather and uncle played the Ghanaian xylophone and his father had a passion for dance. At age 2, he began to play the gyil, and over the years Woma played an important role in his community with his talent in playing the gyil, in 1992 he played for the Dagara community, and in 1999 he founded the Dagara Music Center in Ghana where he taught traditional music and arts. He spent his life traveling and sharing the DAGARA culture and traditional African music until he died in 2018 leaving behind the legacy of the artistic excellence of Dagara and African culture.
External links
* Spotify:''
Bernard Woma in Concert
* Apple Music:''
Bernard Woma
Discography
Albums
*2003: ''Crossroad'' duo with Chris Wabich
*2007: ''Live at the Pito Bar''
*2009: ''Bernard Woma in Concert''
*2013: ''Missa Yielu (Dagara Catholic Mass)''
*Before 2003: The Flow of Time
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woma, Bernard
1966 births
2018 deaths
20th-century Ghanaian musicians
21st-century Ghanaian musicians
Indiana University Bloomington alumni
People from Upper West Region