Wesleyan's Ghanaian Drummers at Wednesday's Mid-Week Music Event in Meriden

Meriden's Mid-Week Summer Music Series will feature a drum group out of Weselyan University in Middletown this afternoon.

From noon to 2 p.m., "The Wesleyan University Ghanaian Drumming Ensemble," which has been playing music since 1968 according to group members, will perform in the courtyard in front of Middlesex Community College's Meriden Center at 55 West Main St.

"Ghanaian drumming does not exist, so to speak: music is part of life in Ghana, and the drumming rhythms played and songs sung reflect the cultural continuity and social interdependence of Ghanaian life," according to the ensemble.

The group is comprised of Weselyan seniors under the direction of Abraham Adzenyah, a master drummer from Gomoa Abosa, Ghana. (You can hear a sample of his playing by clicking the video above.) The group has performed throughout the U.S., including at universities like Yale, Dartmouth and Brown.

The drums are all authentic instruments, and the group plays ancient dance music of the Akan, Ew, and Dagomba ethnic groups.

This is the fourth week of the 2011 music series. Performances – everything from jugglers to jazz standards – will be held each Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m., rain or shine, until August 31. For more information, contact organizer Steve Robichaud of the Sandman Gallery at 203-686-0000.