Music has taken John Kofi Dapaah on a voyage from Ghana, to Japan; Canada, and to Austria. It has brought him to reflect on a range of styles including classical, jazz and gospel piano. John incepted his classical piano studies at the age of 7 with Tabuchi Masako in Muroran, Japan; where his father was completing his graduate studies. His family’s relocation to Canada in 2001 caused John to continue his studies independently. In 2007, he enrolled in Carleton’s B.Mus. program where Dapaah gained the opportunity to study with jazz pianists Steve Boudreau and Mark Ferguson; as well as classical pianists Verna Jacobson and Nicole Presentey. In 2009, John’s composed work for string quartet was performed with choreography at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. As an undergrad, John continued on to perform at receptions in the Rideau Hall hosted by the former and existing Governor Generals of Canada; Michaëlle Jean and the David Johnston. November 2010 marked John’s orchestral debut with the Gatineau Conservatory Orchestra in a concert at Kailash Mital Theatre. He was the featured soloist in Mozart’s piano concerto no. 23 in A major, KV 488. Together with Carleton jazz piano student Kyle Zavitz, Dapaah pursued the final year of his undergraduate music studies at the Kunstuniversität Graz (“KUG”: Graz University for Music and the Performing Arts) in Graz, Austria, during the 2011-12 academic year. In Graz, he studied classical piano with Vice-Rector Univ. Prof. Mag. Eike Straub. John graduated with high honours from Carleton in the summer of 2012. After a year of independent study, John pursued and completed his Master’s at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in 2015. With diligent study and devotion to classical and jazz piano, John made his Cathedral Arts solo debut in February of 2014 and South Minster solo debut in March of 2015. Currently, he is teaching, running an active studio and preparing for upcoming recitals and projects. As the recipient of the 2014 Marion Hewitt Memorial Scholarship and the “Bill and June Joe” fund from the Ottawa Kiwanis Festival, John is an avid performer in both classical and jazz. He keeps busy by playing solo recitals incorporating both genres, and collaborating with singers and other musicians. John is now excepting students for the 2015/2016 semester! You can listen to his last studio recital at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TAJqBwSlc8
Submitted by Sarah Onyango