Musician, Dancer, Drummer, Educator Theo Martey named NH Artist Laureate

 

New Hampshire’s Executive Council has confirmed Gov. Chris Sununu’s nomination of Theophilus Nii Martey of Manchester as the next New Hampshire Artist Laureate.

Theo Nii Martey is a Songwriter, Recording Artist, Producer, Performer, Teaching Artist, Award recipient of the 2019 Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Education and he was featured on New Hampshire Magazine who’s it for 2019 It list

Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, West Africa, Theo began performing with the African Personality Youth Ensemble at the age of 6 and then joined the Shidaa Cultural Troup in 1989. At age 17 he joined the Dance Factory Company at the National Theater of Ghana in 1997, one of the most sought-after performance ensembles in Ghana. When in London in 2000-2002, he performed with the Brekete Drum and Dance Ensemble. 

Theo is the founder and leader of the Akwaaba Ensemble, which has performed concerts throughout NH, the northeastern US, Mexico and Canada since 2002. Each show brings West African drumming, music and dance to vivid life with rhythmic styles and patterns specific to tribal groups of West Africa. Theo and the Akwaaba Ensemble have recorded two albums including “AKWAABA WELCOME HOME” and “JEI ELAAJE WO (LOST IN THE WORLD)”.

 

He has collaborated with Randy Armstrong’s world fusion Ensemble, Steve Ferraris’ Root System, Dan Perkins and the Manchester Choral Society for the Zulu Mass and Christmas Tapestry project and New Hampshire Theatre Project for the Dreaming Again production and taught West African Drumming and Dance as an Adjunct Professor at UNH.  Theo’s work has contributed to international diversity and cultural understanding throughout NH and New England.  Whether he is onstage performing or leading a workshop, Theo says that making people feel welcome, which happens to be the Twi language’s meaning of “Akwaaba,” is the goal of everything that he does. 

Martey has received numerous grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council and New Hampshire State Council on the Arts to teach school residencies, workshops and performances across New England. He has taught more than 5,000 workshops to school children from first grade through high school, college and university students, and in communities. Theo is on both the NH State Council on the Arts' juried Arts Education Roster and Traditional Arts & Folklife Listing Roster.

“Theo is a very talented musician and will be an excellent ambassador for New Hampshire’s vibrant arts community,” said Governor Chris Sununu.  “I look forward to seeing how much he will accomplish in our communities as New Hampshire’s artist laureate!”

“For over two decades, I have been invited into dozens of schools across New Hampshire as an artist in residence, working with students so that they may experience West African drumming and dance hands-on,” said Martey. “To be named artist laureate is an honor, and I look forward to continuing to use music to empower others to discover their best selves and promote the importance of arts across the state and the region.”

In New Hampshire, the artist laureate is a two-year honorary position that receives no compensation. Artists are appointed by the Governor and Executive Council through a recommendation provided by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

Martey is the ninth artist laureate in the program, which was established in 1997.