Inspiring young people in Buxton to pursue music as part of their cultural heritage. Founded by Deo Persaud and others, the school has been running for 9 years and has students of all ages.
'Keeping our Cultural Traditions Alive.'
"While living as a musician in London over a long period of time, I was fortunate to work with the master Drummers from Ghana and Nigeria. Dealing with the elders, I
began to learn the traditions of music and, importantly, the transition of music into a cultural norm and its impact on human development and on the nation as a whole. On my return to Guyana, I set up a music co-operative based in Buxton in 2007. In 2009, three members from our group were invited to perform at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in Trinidad. Two Buxtonians, Marlon Adams and Richard Stephens were accompanied by a Dholak player, Anand Nandan from the Ashram at Cove and John. The invitation came from an UK-based musical organization, Commonwealth Rescinds, run by a husband and wife team, Alison Cox and Marlon Weis. Our music made a great impact: the fusion of Indian and African drummers enthralled the musical collective. We attended a rehearsal of the “Halleluiah Choir” by the Lydian Singers. The choir was practising with musical scripts and invited Buxton Fusion to set down the rhythmic part. Anand Nandan opened up with a solo on the Dholak, followed tightly by the two African drummers after which the singers and the pianists all put aside their musical scripts and launched into a mesmerizing performance of the Halleluiah Choir. During our visit to Trinidad we also took part in several musical workshops across the country. One workshop was held at the Laventille Community Centre, chaired by Ms. Alison Cox and involved Eugene Skeete (a South African musician), Keith Waithe (a Guyanese flautist) and myself. Seeing Euguene’s presentation, ideas on teaching began to percolate in my mind. His conduct and teaching ability were inspiring, and from there the idea of a music school in Guyana was born. Part of the musical contingency was Fusion:Indian and African drummers Deo Persaud Ku’wai 25 a Brazilian, Claudio Kron, a very innovative musician who uses all manner of percussive instruments indigenous to Brazil. At the end of workshop he and Keith Waite made a presentation of percussive instruments to the Buxton Fusion. I can safely say that this was the birth of the Buxton Fusion School of Music."
