(Thokozani
Mhlambi)
In association with Concerts SA and Luthuli
Museum, iSupport Music Business presents Dr Thokozani Mhlambi and Iza Ngoma in
Groutville. The musicians will visit the Luthuli Museum on June 1, 2018.
Dr Thokozani Mhlambi is an internationally
recognized KZN-born cellist and composer, Mhlambi's style of music draws from
the rich heritage of KZN, while still asserting global standards of quality
music-making.
“The audience can expect music that is
simple and yet incisive, showing a deep engagement with the archive (the rich
history of southern Africa) whilst wrestling with contemporary forms; conveying
the rigours of Western classical discipline, with the imaginative limitlessness
of African performance traditions” says Dr Mhlambi.
In 2016, his composition Uyambona lo Mfana was performed by the
Delta Ensemble of Modern Music in Brazil. He is a winner of the African Studies
Prize. In 2016, he was also commissioned by New Music SA to compose an
electronic piece which was performed at the Unyazi Electronic Music Festival in
Cape Town. Mhlambi was also one of the featured artists in the World Summit on
Arts & Culture. His piece Ukuxhentsa
kwa Miriam: Inspired by the life of
Miriam Makeba was proudly published by the Miriam Makeba Foundation on
their online platforms. Ukuxhentsa
was originally commissioned by the Izithunguthu Precolonial Conference 2015, a
conference curated by the Archive & Public Culture Research Initiative
& the Five Hundred Year Archive Project.
Iza Ngoma started late 2016 when three UKZN
music students, namely bassist Charles Mdakane, trumpet player Phuti Mofokeng
and pianist Sibusiso Shabalala gravitated towards each other, with a common
interest and resonance in musical preferences. The three spent time in the
practice rooms for hours unravelling, jamming, immersing themselves in sound,
mostly South African jazz and headed to their respective homes with great
delight. They eventually decided to take this delight to audiences and started
performing on campus where they realized the music resonated with the audience
as much as it did with the trio. The band is constantly exploring other colours
in the music spectrum, besides jazz, which happens to be what they study
academically.
“Our audience should look forward to a
change in African brewed Jazz, which is one of the wonderful things about
modern Jazz.” says bassist Mdakane.
On the Iza Ngoma band stand will be Hlubi
Vakalisa Jele on saxophone, Phuti Mofokeng on trumpet, Sibusiso Shabalala on
piano and vocals, Charles Mdakane on bass guitar and Kabelo Mokhatla on drums.
This performance by Dr Thokozani Mhlambi
and Iza Ngoma is part of the Concerts SA Venue Circuit which aims to foster a
love and support for live music in communities, as well as anchor small and
medium sized venues in urban and rural Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western
Cape.
Concerts SA is a joint South
African/Norwegian live music development project housed within the SAMRO
Foundation. Concerts SA receives financial, administrative and technical
support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO, the SAMRO
Foundation and Concerts Norway.
The performance will take place at 18h00 on
June 1, 2018, at the Luthuli Museum in Groutville.
For more information visit http://concertssa.co.za,
follow @ConcertsSA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA
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