"You don’t learn the piano by reading books on piano; you go to the practice room and get lost in it for hours. If you don’t have that commitment to honing your skills, I honestly don’t know what it is you are studying music for," he asserted.

Emer. Prof. Agawu advised participants to read as much as they could for facts and strategies for knowledge production. “Read critically when you are in the position to do that. In other words, do not assume that the person who wrote the article knows what they are saying; be skeptical while you are reading; choose modules of excellence scholarship.”

The recipient of the 1992 Dent Medal entreated attendees to endeavour to write scholarly and publish articles in refereed journals.

“Writing is hard, it’s not something that comes naturally to a lot of people, I must say. You must work at it to do it right. So, write short papers, write long papers, and publish in refereed journals.

“What we call 'art music' is music that has an interrogative quality. You’re not just composing to feel good; you’re being creative. You are composing to explore, to discover things, and so if your music is lacking that interrogative quality, to me, there is a problem. You should explore the elements of music. You should give yourself that creative freedom and be crazy sometimes. All of these are acceptable because you are expressing yourself in this art of tone," he stated.

The Head, Department of Music Education, Dr. Augusta Arko-Mensah, in welcoming participants, indicated that the prime focus of the seminar was to interact with Emer. Prof. Agawu to edify faculty members on collaborations, fellowships, and a whole lot of other opportunities available to music lecturers, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as the university community in general.

The Vice-Dean of SCA, Dr. Evans Asante, who chaired the occasion on behalf of the Dean of SCA, Prof. Emmanuel Obed Acquah, emphasised the importance of creating dynamic intellectual connections for collaborative research. 

“In as much as this is in music, it’s arts and we are all going to benefit at the end of the day whether you are in music, theatre arts, visual arts, or fashion, we are all going to draw on this collaborative benefits of research. We are all in the arts and now the world is moving towards collaborative arts, so it is wonderful to have Prof. Agawu here to provide us with more perspective this morning,” he averred.