Managing Director & Founder
Nana Baakan has been singing, dancing and acting since she was a young child. She began the group in 1983 with her four children. Nana Baakan is an Akan Priestess, entrepreneur, dancer, percussionist, singer, lyricist, choreographer, educator and seamstress. Major percussion training came from her teacher, Obrafo Kwabena Acheampong, formerly of the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble. She also writes songs for the ensemble and arranges some of the percussion pieces the ensemble plays. Nana Baakan took the idea of "poly-rhythms" and applied them to the sakara drum, created a sakara drum battery and added the Sangba, a powerful drum usually played with in a djembe battery.
E-mail: nanabaakan@voicesofafrica.net
Pioneer and Musical Director
Adwoa, (Nana Baakan's Daughter) entered the group at the tender age of seven. Always singing and drumming, she advanced in her skill to demonstrate a natural talent for harmonizing and playing poly-rhythms. She is a composer, songwriter, poet, dancer, percussionist, seamstress, photographer, actor and artist and comes from a long line of creative and performing artists. She is the Musical Director of the group and is now expanding her musical studies to include Brazilian Percussion. Adwoa writes and composes many of the songs and percussion pieces the ensemble plays.
E-mail: Adwoa_Tacheampong@voicesofafrica.net
Assistant Managing Director & Pioneer
Zakiyyah (also Nana Baakan's daughter) entered the group at the tender age of five. Initially a soprano terrified to perform, she has blossomed into a very talented professional percussionist and singer carrying the base run of much of the Group's songs. She is a fine artist, seamstress, drummer and budding entrepreneur. She has also performed as a dancer and is an outstanding artist who had her first art exhibit at nine years of age.
E-mail: Zakiyyah McKelven@voicesofafrica.net
Performing Member
Nyo has studied Ballet, Jazz, Modern and African dance for 20 years and has performed with many Dance Companies in and around the Philadelphia area. Dance experience includes the Tri-State Ballet and Kariamu Asante & Company. She has served as dance coordinator and choreographer for the Sharon Hill Athletic Association. She has had extensive theater experience with her movie debut in Oprah Winfree’s “Beloved.” Presently Akosua Nyo is moving into the position of Associate Member of the Ensemble after a period of being the Performance Arts Consultant.
E-mail: Okomfo_Nyo@voicesofafrica.net
Performing Member
Blanche has been a teacher/partisan of the Arts for many years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in Ceramics/Art Therapy in 2000 and has spent years teaching the Visual Arts to children. Her love of the arts includes music, written word, performing and the physical arts of martial art and dance. With VOA she has been given the opportunity to expand on her love of Music by combining a cappella song with the heart pumping rhythms of African Percussions giving her an outlet to combine all of her passions into one. Blanche brings an open heart and a joyous energy to everything she does.
E-mail: Blanche_Baxter@voicesofafrica.net
