Celebration of Music - Talent Search

Kofi R. Boakye is a 19-year-old Award-winning pianist born in Akron, Ohio. Kofi has gathered musical experience from myriad venues across the United States. Kofi has been interviewed by 8x Emmy Award Winner Romona Robinson of CBS WOIO News as well as appeared in multiple magazines, newspapers and broadcasts across Ohio. Though many of his experiences stem from within the U.S., Kofi has had the opportunity to refine his talents on the world stage, touring Germany and Prague with the Miller South Show Choir. At the age of 15, Kofi was accepted into the University of Akron School of Music's Jazz Program, making him the youngest African-American pianist to ever be accepted into a collegiate-level jazz program at the UA. Kofi continued his upward path of music production and songwriting when musically producing the Emmy-Nominated Short-Film "Why Not Akron?". While music remains at the core, Kofi's accolade extends beyond the big stage. In 2014, President Barack Obama and the White House awarded Kofi with the "President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence". In 2018, Kofi won the Silver medal in the NAACP ACT-SO National Competition; making him the first person from Akron to ever win. Currently, Kofi is a newly minted high-school graduate and attends the University of Akron studying Integrated Marketing Communications. He will attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA in the Fall of 2019.