{"id":91068,"date":"2025-10-05T16:19:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T16:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence"},"modified":"2025-10-05T16:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T16:41:12","slug":"unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence","title":{"rendered":"Unisa Vice-Chancellor Concert Celebrates African Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The University of South Africa (Unisa) hosted an evening of music, culture and celebration at its annual Vice-Chancellor\u2019s Concert on Saturday, marking the fourth edition of the event and the final year of Prof Puleng LenkaBula\u2019s first term as principal and vice-chancellor.<\/p>\n

Held under the theme \u201cThe Year of the Voice\u201d, the concert brought together world-renowned artists, distinguished guests and members of the diplomatic corps in a showcase of African excellence and artistic heritage.<\/p>\n

LenkaBula said in her opening address the concert was introduced as an institutional initiative to recognise music\u2019s transformative power in fostering healing and driving innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn important theme of tonight\u2019s programme is celebrating Unisa\u2019s own music history and that of its laureates and alumni. This concert is the culmination of a calendar of concerts, competitions and festivals celebrating our musical heritage. Just last week, we hosted the inaugural African music festival and symposium, marking a new chapter in our music performance and education journey. I have been a passionate advocate for Africanisation and so I am delighted that this festival has been developed into an annual event in our calendar,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

LenkaBula reflected on Unisa\u2019s achievements during her tenure that celebrated the university\u2019s global partnerships and reaffirmed her commitment to Africanisation and cultural preservation through music and education.<\/p>\n

She described music as more than art. \u201cIt is science. It embodies rhythm, structure, and computation, echoing the same logic that drives mathematical reasoning, artificial intelligence and our understanding of what it means to be human,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn July, we hosted the 3rd Unisa National Voice Competition, which was recorded for MNET and which is the precursor to the 7th Unisa International Voice Competition, which will take place from January 21 to 31 2026. As the only African member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, we are delighted to host the next generation of vocal talent from around the world,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Operatic lyric soprano, Pumeza Matshikiza and acclaimed South African singer, songwriter and activist Simpiwe Dana gave a stellar performance.<\/p>\n

Known for her soul-stirring voice and commanding stage presence, Pumeza has performed on some of the world\u2019s most prestigious stages, including London, Los Angeles and Siracusa, Italy.<\/p>\n

Last month, Matshikiza added another accolade to her name: a place on the Wall of Fame at the Roodepoort Theatre, part of Joburg City Theatres\u2019 45th anniversary gala on Heritage Day.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The University of South Africa (Unisa) hosted an evening of music, culture and celebration at its annual Vice-Chancellor\u2019s Concert on Saturday, marking the fourth edition of the event and the final year of Prof Puleng LenkaBula\u2019s first term as principal and vice-chancellor. Held under the theme \u201cThe Year of the Voice\u201d, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-91068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nUnisa Vice-Chancellor Concert Celebrates African Excellence - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The University of South Africa (Unisa) hosted an evening of music, culture and celebration at its annual Vice-Chancellor ...\" \/>\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\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unisa Vice-Chancellor Concert Celebrates African Excellence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The University of South Africa (Unisa) hosted an evening of music, culture and celebration at its annual Vice-Chancellor ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-05T16:19:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-05T16:41:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759669802.952938.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Unisa Vice-Chancellor Concert Celebrates African Excellence\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-05T16:19:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-05T16:41:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1759669802.952938.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/unisa-vice-chancellor-concert-celebrates-african-excellence\",\"name\":\"Unisa Vice-Chancellor Concert Celebrates African Excellence - 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