James Acheampong is one in a long line of royal drum-makers. The smell, the feel of newly carved Cordia wood, and the steady, driving rhythm of drums shaped his childhood. Sculpting richly detailed wood creations is his passion, he said, there was never another path in life.

James Acheampong

An equally spirited performer, Acheampong is a drummer and dancer in the tradition of his mother, grandfather and great-grandfather before him. You can't be a good carver if you don't know anything about drumming, he said while demonstrating the playing technique for a handful of onlookers, including Donna Honigman of Bethlehem,an animal therapist, and music lover. It shakes your soul, she said. The drum is the heartbeat of music.

Every drum has a different sound, said Acheampong. The deeper, richer-sounding drums are considered male, and the higher-pitched ones female. In the hands of a skillful drummer, their booming sound proved an efficient means of communication between villages long before the telephone.

The king would dispatch drummers to telegraph messages to elders in outlying villages, said Acheampong. Both wars and great celebrations were announced with drums.

For years, his family drum-making business catered exclusively to Ghana's elite,its kings and chiefs,each with their signature design, he said. Now, Acheampong's creations are spread across the globe, most of them carved in a studio back home in Ghana with the help of a cadre of students at the Centre for National Culture in the city of Kumasi.

Drums for the king are sculpted exclusively by Acheampong, not his students. One of his creations includes a 5-foot, carved drum with gold inlay and other finery, he said.

As often as twice a year Acheampong sets up shop at art and music festivals in the United States, where he draws inspiration from other artists. This year, after spending time at a jazz festival in New Orleans, he landed at Musikfest.

Along with his assistant and student of nine years, Kofi Atta, 36, Acheampong brings a small sampling of tools some of which have been in his family for generations — including a machete and a hand-crafted adze for smoothing rough-cut wood.

Some of his creations - which take as little as a week or as long as a year to complete — are on display under a white tent where he and Atta toil, unperturbed by the heat, surrounded by piles of feathery wood chips. Their work quickly caught the attention of another Musikfest drum-maker, Conrad Kubiak.

Kubiak, whose work is displayed on this year's Musikfest poster, said Acheampong's drums are underpriced and prohibitively labor-intensive with hand-cast metal fittings a practice that he said is unheard of in the United States, where labor is expensive.

I would have to charge $20,000 for a drum-like that, said Kubiak of Wrightstown Township in Bucks County.

Acheampong's work ranges in price from about $20 for small, wooden sculptures to $2,500 for some drums, his assistant said.

Acheampong will host a workshop for children on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Handwerkplatz, where he will demonstrate carving, drumming and dancing. He enjoys teaching. His own four children, raised in what Acheampong calls the computer age, occasionally come to his studio to watch their father. He wonders if any will follow in his footsteps.

If they chose another path, Acheampong would be the last in a line of master drum-makers dating back more than 300 years. He isn't troubled by the notion. His students at the Centre for National Culture will bear the torch.

The tradition, he said, would merely pass from one family to another.

James Acheampong comes from a long line of royal drum-makers and has inherited his family's passion for sculpting richly detailed wood creations. He is also a skilled drummer and dancer, following in the footsteps of his mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Growing up surrounded by the smell and feel of newly carved Cordia wood, Acheampong knew from an early age that there was no other path for him in life.

For years, his family drum-making business catered exclusively to Ghana's elite, including kings and chiefs, each with their signature design. Now, Acheampong's creations are spread across the globe, most of them carved in a studio back home in Ghana with the help of a cadre of students at the Centre for National Culture in the city of Kumasi.

Acheampong's drums are known for their unique sound, with the deeper, richer-sounding drums considered male and the higher-pitched ones female. The booming sound of the drums proved an efficient means of communication between villages long before the telephone, with drummers dispatched to telegraph messages to elders in outlying villages, announcing both wars and great celebrations.

As often as twice a year, Acheampong travels to art and music festivals in the United States, drawing inspiration from other artists. His creations range in price from about $20 for small, wooden sculptures to $2,500 for some drums. Despite the labor-intensive nature of his work, Acheampong is committed to keeping his prices accessible.

Acheampong enjoys teaching and will host a workshop for children where he will demonstrate carving, drumming, and dancing. He wonders if any of his four children, raised in what he calls the computer age, will follow in his footsteps. If they choose another path, Acheampong is not troubled by the notion, as his students at the Centre for National Culture will bear the torch and pass the tradition from one family to another.