Alumni

Alumni

Blessing Chimanga Teams Up With Alliance Française De Harare Hor His New Show, ‘The Music Journey’

2014 Alumnus Blessing Chimanga has teamed up with the Alliance Française de Harare to produce, direct, and host ‘The Music Journey’, an online show interviewing Zimbabwean musicians. According to Chimanga, the show is an opportunity “to understand the artist more, getting to know their journey, the successes, the challenges and the secret behind the artist.” After the interview, the musicians close with an exclusive live performance. The show has already featured two alumni members, vocalist-guitarist Tariro neGitare and ethnomusicologist-performer Othnell Moyo. Catch Moyo’s episode here, and watch Tariro’s episode below.
Alumni

Rapasa Otieno named as Artist in Residence at Sage Gateshead, England

Rapasa Otieno, Kenyan multi-instrumentalist and 2017 OneBeat Fellow, was chosen along with 4 other musicians as an Artist in Residence at Sage Gateshead. Based in North-East England, the 10-month residency offers an opportunity for musicians developing creative projects across a wide range of genres. Talking about the forthcoming residency, which takes place from September 2020 to June 2021, Rapasa said: “I am excited at the idea of investigating more ways to become independent in my creativity as well as strengthening successful collaborations with local artists. I would love the output which I will present to incorporate my research of how the change of audience from home in Kenya to the North East of England towards the path of exploring my tradition in today’s music context.” Rapasa recently had some of his past tracks, including ‘Ng’ama Ikwero‘ and ‘Ngima Jathum‘, named top 40 African influences on Ethnocloud.
Alumni

Becky Hill Selected For Strathmore Artist in Residence Program

2018 Fellow Becky Hill was selected to participate in the 2021 Strathmore Artist in Residence program, which supports artists transitioning into professional careers. The program has mentored over 76 musicians, and Becky Hill is the first percussive dancer to be selected. She is one of 6 musicians from around the world selected to participate in this year’s program. Find out more about the residency here. Watch Becky performing at the Augusta Heritage Center in 2016 below: