{"id":8523,"date":"2021-04-15T20:05:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T20:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?p=8523"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:36:56","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T17:36:56","slug":"sa-composer-makes-history-with-writing-xhosa-folklore-songs-for-harvard-glee-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sa-composer-makes-history-with-writing-xhosa-folklore-songs-for-harvard-glee-club","title":{"rendered":"SA composer makes history with writing Xhosa folklore songs for Harvard Glee Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – South-Africa<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Cape Town – A 47-year-old Khayelitsha-based composer has made history by being the first black South African to be commissioned by Harvard University to write folklore songs in IsiXhosa for its male Glee Club.<\/p>\n

Bongani Magatyana from Site C said he was approached by the institution last year after he was introduced to the director of choral activities at the university, Andrew Clark, and later performed his composition Khaya Lami.<\/p>\n

Magatyana said he owed his experience to the Siyaya Ensemble at JL Zwane Centre in Gugulethu, where he wrote songs about HIV\/Aids in multiple genres in 2006.<\/p>\n

He said that in 2013, Village Harmony, a choral organisation, invited him to conduct a workshop on one of his songs and later invited him to teach for its yearly programmes.<\/p>\n

Magatyana, the original composer of the famous folklore song Nongqawuse, said this opportunity would allow him a chance to correct the mistakes that had been made with black South African choral music while exposing him to other institutions. With Harvard University being one of the most respected universities, he said this motivated him greatly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all the countries I have travelled in I will always find a South African song book written and edited by composers who do not understand the language and the rhythm. I am one of the composers who still write choral songs sung in local competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow my goal is to provide people around the world with the opportunity to learn music directly from culture-bearers, and to learn these songs on the culture-bearer\u2019s terms, rather than from publications created by \u2019arrangers\u2019 who have no real knowledge of the music (or cultures) off which they\u2019re profiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Magatyana is currently teaching children through the newly formed Khayelitsha Children\u2019s Choir.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to expose our children to different styles of music because they are only taught one style of music. I want to expose them to jazz, performing with live bands and orchestras from a young age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Harvard Glee Club is expected to perform Magatyana\u2019s new composition Inkomo next month, which he said was inspired by stories of stock theft in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n

Mollie Stone from Village Harmony said that when she first met Magatyana in 2006 she was deeply impressed by the range of his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been a treasured part of our organisation ever since. The more we promote and expand the visibility of the works of musicians like Magatyana, the more we can strive for justice and excellence in the choral world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Clark said they were honoured to perform Magatyana\u2019s music and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about black South African choral traditions, as well as the important topics that he explored in his compositions.<\/p>\n

Cape Argus<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cape Town – A 47-year-old Khayelitsha-based composer has made history by being the first black South African to be commissioned by Harvard University to write folklore songs in IsiXhosa for its male Glee Club. Bongani Magatyana from Site C said he was approached by the institution last year after he was introduced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":8522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,8],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-8523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nSA composer makes history with writing Xhosa folklore songs for Harvard Glee Club - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cape Town - A 47-year-old Khayelitsha-based composer has made history by being the first black South African to be commi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sa-composer-makes-history-with-writing-xhosa-folklore-songs-for-harvard-glee-club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SA composer makes history with writing Xhosa folklore songs for Harvard Glee Club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cape Town - 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