The principal of the Ballanta Academy of Music, Kitty Fadlu Deen, yesterday at her Liverpool Street office in Freetown informed Awoko newspaper that they were working towards building an ultra modern academy.
The principal said the current building they were occupying “is owned by the Freetown City Council and we have occupied it for the past 11 years”.
She said they wanted to get an ultra modern building which would have a recording studio, a theatre, teaching and practice rooms and a music shop.
With the new building, they would be able to bring in Africa curriculum, gospel, classical music, dance and drama.
Mrs Fadlu Deen said they would start new courses for students in the performing Arts and that they would be targeting those from Junior Secondary School (JSS) upwards.
The principal said they would be launching the new building project with a sponsored work on May 5 from Hovercraft at Aberdeen, west of the capital, to the Academy and the expected time of take off would be 10.00am.
She stated that they had designed dash cards which every lecturer and student would use to do the fundraising.
Upon arrival at Liverpool Street, Mrs Fadlu Deen said food and drinks would be on sale as part of the fund raising exercise.
On 2nd, 3rd and 4th May, Ballanta Academy would come up with ‘Bobo Lef’, a dance drama written by Raymond de Souza George, at the British Council in Freetown.
Mrs Kitty Fadlu Deen also reiterated that come 6th and 7th March next year, inaugural lectures on N G J (Nicolas, George, Julius) in his memory would start the memorial lecture series.
The principal appealed to all to help them in their rebuilding process as “the Academy is growing by the day”.
The Ballanta Academy of Music was opened on October 25, 1995, and was named after Professor Nicholas George Julius Ballanta who was Sierra Leone’s foremost musicologist, teacher, composer and aesthetician.
ADVERTISEMENT