(DBD
frontman, Chris Ntuli, with Girls Isicathamiya Choir from Lamontville High, in
Durban who will participate in the 16th High Schools Isicathamiya Choirs)
Durban Black Drifters (DBD) is busy with
the Isicathamiya workshop in a tour which will see them visit 50 Durban
Metro-based high schools. Amongst the places in their list are Umlazi, KwaMashu,
Inanda, Hammarsdale, and Umbumbulu, to name but a few. The group is conducting
workshops in preparation for the 16th High Schools Isicathamiya Choirs to be
held at the Playhouse on September 28, 2018.
“Drifters are on a mission to attract more
girls choirs, of which we are targeting 10. We have already found three, such
as the Lamontville Girls High Isicathamiya Group. For years, women have been
part and parcel of this music genre, as always witnessed at YMCA and Playhouse
Isicathamiya competitions,” says Durban Black Drifters frontman, Chris Ntuli,
Only 50 Durban Metro Municipal based will
participate in this year’s event. Schools will be competing for R50,000,
trophies and certificates. Students will be taught in all Isicathamiya music
disciplines and to uphold all their cultural values. The workshops are free and
will be conducted in school halls and classrooms.
SABC TV sports presenter and Ukhozi
executive producer, Joe Hudla, will compere the event for the 11th time. The
show is not about prizes and money, but education, development, preserving and
promotion of this genre, which is on the verge of extinction. There are no
joining and entrance fees to the choirs and public. Students will be
entertained by Isicathamiya veteran groups such as High Stars, Uhlelo Olusha,
Mzumbe Lover Boys, while Eric ‘’Coolfire’’ Hadebe will rekindle ancestors with
the burning of impepho (incense) during the opening of this show.
During the 2014 national choirs at
Playhouse, over 20 groups from this development show were recorded in open
section category. Other young groups that have been produced by this project
are Mpumalanga White Birds of Hammarsdale, Nyuswa Home Boys of Botha’s Hill and
Abafana Basetembeni of Melmoth, newly-formed Ngcolosi Home Boys of Botha’s
Hill, and a host of others who are now singing at YMCA and all other
surrounding Durban and rural halls. Durban Black Drifters is the only
Isicathamiya group that teaches this music to schools as it seeks to preserve,
promote, educate and develop this genre at grassroots level so that the music
can stay for generations.
Started in 1992 as a workshop project by
Durban Black Drifters, the event has established and transferred skills to over
2,000 school groups. It has won the BASA award and numerous other cultural
awards as the best youth-based Isicathamiya music development project. DBD has
been in music for three decades. They’ve toured France, Belgium, Norway,
Canada, USA, China and Japan. Drifters have also appeared in a Broadway musical
written by American playwright, Ermill Thrower, called Hurricane Katrina, dedicated to the flood victims of New Orleans in
2004.
Ntuli, as a leader, has worked and recorded
two albums with Ladysmith Black Mambazo entitled Ukuzala Ukuzelula and Thuthukani
Ngoxolo. He later translated both albums for Paul Simon with a little help
from a friend, Msizi Shabalala. He further appeared with Mambazo on the King Cetshwayo’ musical play, written
and directed by Prince Njengabantu Zulu who had just come back from exile in
America in 1994. The others he has recorded with include Aerto Moreira
(Brazil), Madala Kunene, and late musicians Sipho Gumede, Busi Mhlongo and Jabu
Khanyile.
He has come a long way with his music when
he first came to Durban in the early 70’s. He spent his first two years on the
streets in the Point area eking out a living from shipping contractors earning
R2 a day. When the chips were down, he would go for days without a meal. Having
worked for various publications, Chris Ntuli is a rare and unique kind of
musician who possesses many years of experience in marketing and media. Before
engaging in music full-time, he was employed as a sales promotions manager for
a long established national daily newspaper, Sowetan. He also holds a modelling
diploma obtained in 1983 from Sexy Katz Modelling School in Bree Street Arcade
in Johannesburg.
The 16th Isicathamiya High Schools
Competition will be held at the Playhouse at 10h00 on September 28, 2018, and is
sponsored by Durban Metro Municipality, organized and managed by DBD
Entertainment.
For more information, interested schools should
phone 073 301 6740 between 09h00 and 17h00.
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