| William Oscar "Willie" Anku | |
| Birth Date: | 25 July 1949 |
| Birth Place: | Gbadzeme, Volta Region, Ghana |
| Death Date: | 1 February 2010 |
| Death Place: | Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana |
| Nationality: | Ghanaian |
| Education: | University of Montana, Missoula, University of Pittsburgh, University of Ghana, Legon |
| Occupation: | Musician, professor, ethnomusicologist |
William Oscar "Willie" Anku (25 July 1949 – 1 February 2010) was a Ghanaian music theorist, ethnomusicologist, composer, and performer. His work combined Western set theory with computer programming and experience in working with performers of various West African musical traditions to create a comprehensive theory of African rhythm. He was "unique among Africa-based music theorists in attracting the attention of the US-based Society for Music Theory," being invited to give plenary lectures and receiving tributes from prominent US-based theorists.[1]
Anku rejected the relevance of simple concepts of polymeter in understanding West African music.[2]
He is noted for attempting to create a more natural, but non-indigenous system of music notation to the study of African music.[3] Anku's circular notation shows the various "combinatoric aspects of [a] pattern relative to different metrical positions, based on how the rhythmic pattern is aligned with [a] regulative metric pattern."[4]
Bode Omojola lists Anku among five contemporary scholars most influencing ideas of African Rhythm.[5] His work was cited as influential on Godfried Toussaint's general geometric theory of musical timelines.[6]
Agawu described his approach to West-African music theory as "structural set analysis," the title of two of his short books.[7] He defended the analytical approach to African music in a 2007 interview on Ghanaian MetroTV.[8]
In addition to its impact on understanding African music, Anku's theories have been cited in the study of György Ligeti.[9]
Willie Anku came from Gbadzeme in the Avatime Traditional Area of the Volta Region of Ghana.[10]
He received his Master of Music Education from the University of Montana, Missoula in 1976; MA and PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986 and 1988 respectively.[11] He was head of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon until just prior to his death.[1]
Professor Anku was involved in a motor accident on 20 January 2010 and died 2 weeks later at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Madam Eva Ebeli, and three children.[12]