FormerGonje Teacher
Bizung School of Music & Dance – Ghana
Abdul-Samed is a gonje musician, first learning this traditional horse-hair violin as a child from his grandfathers. He is a master in his field and regularly performs at traditional ceremonies and music festivals around Ghana. Abdul-Samed brings experience and wisdom to his teaching, and many Bizung students, apprenticed to this old craft, have benefited from his expressive knowledge. He also introduces younger children to the ghale, or calabash rattle, played in mesmerizing accompaniment to the gonje. Samed has released two albums in Northern Ghana, one of which blends the sonorous gonje with Western Instrumentation. He is a trustee for the Northern Musicians Union of Ghana.
