Ghanaian singer, flutist, and composer Dela Botri has recounted how a pastor identified his musical potential when he was only 10 years old and helped him acquire his first flute.
Speaking to Kafui Dey, Dela Botri said his early exposure to percussion instruments eventually led him to develop an interest in the flute after watching someone in his community play the instrument.
He said he initially played instruments such as the rattle, percussion, and bell but became fascinated with the flute and attempted to teach himself after another musician he approached could not teach him.
“I found the five practice keys and then I started to practise it myself slowly,” he recalled.
According to him, a pastor from his mother’s church noticed his talent and told his mother that he believed Dela Botri would become a musician.
“He told my mum I would be a musician from what he was seeing,” he said.
The pastor subsequently bought him a flute in 1979, which Dela Botri received as an unexpected Christmas gift.
He recalled being particularly excited because he initially assumed his mother had bought him clothing or other conventional Christmas presents.
“It was something beyond biscuits and drinks; it was a flute, and I was very excited when I received it,” he said.
Dela Botri said that early encouragement played an important role in his decision to pursue music and develop the talent he had discovered as a child.
