REMEMBERING O.G. BLANKSON: A GHANAIAN CHORAL ART MUSIC COMPOSER

ABSTRACT : This paper contributes to the current Ghanaian choral art music scholarship by tracing the lifehistory and works of Oman Ghan Blankson, one of Ghana’s foremost choral art music composers in an attemptto bring to the fore his musical exploits in the context of Ghanaian choral art music. Music is inarguably at thecentre of Christian worship and has been an integral part of the formation of the church up till today. TheWestern missionaries brought their style of music to the Gold Coast now Ghana. As time went on, Africancomposers started composing songs that reflected their identity. The tunes were used for everyday churchservice and special occasions. These composers contributed to the foundation of choral music and hymnology inthe African church, of which one of such composers is O.G. Blankson. Although the compositions of O.G.Blankson are well known among the choral art music fraternity, not much is known of him as a person.Employing document review and interviews for data collection, the paper reveals O.G. Blankson as one of themajor contributor to the development of choral art music in Ghana.

KEYWORDS: Ghanaian choral art music, Christian worship, composer, hymnology, O.G. Blankson