Event Details

Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 7:30pm

Bengtson Auditorium, Russell Hall

World Music Concert

West African Drum/Dance Ensemble 

directed by Staci Toma

with special guest

Attah Poku

UNI Brazilian Samba Ensemble

UNI WADE (gyil ensemble)

UNI WADE

UNI WADE with UNI Percussion Studio guests

UNI WADE, joined by community guests

UNI WADE, joined by all

Personnel

West African Drum/Dance Ensemble (WADE)
Griffin Bieber
Shelby Brubaker
Anna Gregorsok
Ben Grim
Abby Harrison
Kyle Langston
Jonah O’Neal
Natalie Pothoven
Gladys Maud Quaye
José Villalba
Jirah Wiens

Brazilian Samba Ensemble
Tiernan Boggs
Shelby Brubaker
Anna Godtland
Anna Gregorsok
Abby Harrison
Ivy Hemmer
Emmett Jordan
Claretta Larson
Jonah O’Neal
Emily Paulson
Adam Schroeder
Carter Shaw
José Villalba

About the Artists

Emmanuel Attah Poku is a prominent master drummer from the Ashanti Region of Ghana, West Africa. Born and raised inside the walls of the Ashanti King's palace, Attah began training with his grandfather when he was only five years old, and officially joined the Ashanti King's drum ensemble when he was ten. Performing as lead drummer for the Kumasi Centre for National Culture, the Ashanti King's Fontomfrom ensemble, and the renowned Nsuase Kete group, Attah has toured Africa extensively, playing in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Attah is currently based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he directs the Kiniwe African Music and Dance Ensemble at Tufts University and is the Artistic Director of the Agbekor Drum and Dance Society, founded by Professor David Locke (Music Department, Tufts University.) Attah Poku has performed for internationally renowned figures such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prince Charles of Wales, movie star Steven Seagal, heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, and presidents of many African nations including Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia.