Innocent Megbolu
Nigeria’s leading music institute, Ten Strings, has unveiled its first ever gospel music academy.
The event which took place in Lagos also doubled as the unveiling of its newest campus and the appointment of Nigeria’s biggest gospel disc jockey, DJ Gosporella as Head of Faculty.
Speaking at the ceremony, the founder of the institute, Mr. Emmanuel Akakpo, stated that the new gospel music academy was birthed in response to the demand for professional training created by young talents looking to pursue a career in the gospel music industry.
“The goal at inception in 2007 was closing the gap between what is being taught in music schools and what the student wants to be. Prior to that time, what was obtainable in Music schools was the teaching of classical music when our musicians wanted to be afro-beats artistes, gospel, hip-hop, rhythm and blues etc. So after teaching in over 20 music schools across the world, I felt it was about time to give it a trial.”
Akakpo noted that with the institution’s membership with the International society for Music Education (ISME), the institute is poised to drive its students towards international best practices in every genre of music they choose.
“We are preparing our students for the global stage. Our vision is to produce successful musicians and music professionals who would continue to grow and remain relevant”, he said.
The school which currently has five campuses in Nigeria and one in the UK has produced music stars such as Judikay, Eva Alordia, DJ Spinall amongst others.
Akakpo however stated that the major challenge the institute faces is insufficient funding. According to him, all the progress which the school has recorded in its fifteen years of existence has been gotten organically from tuition which is not enough to meet the huge market available for Nigerian music all over the world.
“We have never gotten a penny from anywhere in terms of grants. Local or state governments have not given us a dime at any point in time. So all the growth you see we have made these fifteen years have been organic. I have learnt that as important as money is, passion is what it takes to keep a dream alive”, he said.
