The "Voices of Africa" Chorale Ensemble a cappella and percussion group will bring a special blend of traditional West African music, jazz and gospel songs to the at 8 tonight in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

"['Voices of Africa']'s song-and-drum-beat stage performance creates a heat-altering experience of rich harmonies and blood-boiling rhythm," said Kelly Conway of the National Women's Music Festival.

The all-female ensemble first performed at Penn State in 1999.

"There was a buzz for days," said Lawrence Young, the center's director at the time. "It was all good."

Other venues across the country have also given the group's music high praise for its excitement and promotion of cultural understanding.

According to the group, its concert programs are not just entertainment, but interaction between musicians and the community. Performing traditional African songs as well as Brazilian and other styles, the group follows every number with a short explanation of both the song and instruments, giving audiences a complete and unique experience as well as an opportunity to interact.

Jamila Smith, co-program director of the Philadelphia-based Camp City Year program, remembered the group's visit in April 2004.

"They were incredible. They provided information into what they do, the instruments and the music; they were very interactive," Smith said.

"Voices of Africa," based in Philadelphia, was formed in 1983 by managing director Nana Akosua Baakan Agyiriwah, a former student of Obrafo Kwabena Acheampong of the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble.

She writes songs and arranges percussion sets for the group, which includes her two daughters, Adua Tacheampong and Zakiyyah McKelven, as well as Blanche Baxter.

All members are trained percussionists, using traditional instruments of Western Africa. To accompany songs, "Voices of Africa" uses traditional instruments such as the Sekere and Sakara drums to stir up the audience's adrenaline levels and the group hopes the audience will react. Members encourage those at their performance to "feel free to dance, clap and enjoy the powerful music."

Paul Robeson Cultural Center Assistant Director Debra Simpson-Buchanan first experienced "Voices of Africa" as Penn State Harrisburg's multicultural affairs coordinator.

"The chorale and percussion ensemble will bring an added touch to the celebration of Homecoming here at University Park," she said. "All communities are welcome to this event."