Sam Derchie introduces students to a world and culture very different from the one they enjoy in Australia today. Long before Spiderman there was Ananse, a spider from the folklore of the Ashanti people of Ghana in West Africa. His stories with their messages of “co-operating can solve problems”, “learning is important and fun” and “we all have similar needs and fears” are interspersed and punctuated with music, drumming and songs. There are also stories and facts about Sam’s many instruments, how and what they are made from, what they are used for and how he learnt to play them.

There are numerous opportunities for students to participate in the singing, dancing and drumming and Sam carries a number of drums of different sizes, pitch and uses.

The Dondo or Talking Drum, changes pitch as you squeeze it and is great for imitating various forest sounds and the human voice. The Djembe is arguably the best sounding and most widely used African drum of all.

With his many other African percussion instruments and his colourful Ghanaian traditional clothing, Sam holds his audience from beginning to end leaving students with a lasting impression of his African culture.

Born in Ghana in the latter half of the last century, Sam studied African Literature before turning his love of piano and percussion into a full time career, touring around Australia as the supporting act for artists like Ziggy Marley and Osibisa. For the past 20 years, since leaving the life of a rock musician, Sam has been performing in schools from coast to coast across both Australia and New Zealand, combining both his music and storytelling skills in Ananse Stories.