Benjamin Paulding
Lecturer in Music
Degrees
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, B.A.Profile
Ben Paulding is an American percussionist who extensively lived in Kumasi, Ghana, drumming on national television for the Ghanaian President and the country’s top traditional chiefs and queen-mothers. In West Africa, Ben had over 200 performances with internationally acclaimed drum and dance ensembles including the Centre for National Culture, the Ashanti King’s Fontomfrom Ensemble, and the Nsuase Kete Group. Ben currently lives in Boston where he directs the Fafali Ghanaian music ensemble at Brandeis University, and serves as Drum Leader for David Locke and Attah Poku’s Agbekor Drum and Dance Society.Courses Taught
| MUS | 87a | Music and Dance from Ghana |
| MUS | 87b | Music and Dance from Ghana |
Scholarship
Paulding, Benjamin. "Kete for the International Percussion Community." Discourses in African Musicology: J.H. Kwabena Nketia Festschrift. Ed. Kwasi Ampene. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2015. 156-185.
Paulding, Benjamin. "Kete: Ashanti Royal Court Drumming from Ghana." Rhythm! Scene Vol. 2. No. 5 (2015): 38-41 <http://pasdigitaledition.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/onlinemags/rhythmsceneoct15/>.
Paulding, Benjamin. "Kete for Drumset: Left-Foot Bell Approach." Rhythm! Scene Vol. 1. No. 4 (2014): <http://pasdigitaledition.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/onlinemags/rhythmsceneaug14/>.