UWC’s choir conductor, Sibusiso Njeza, is the composer of Madiba The African Opera which will premiere in Cape Town at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre on May 22.
Njeza started composing as a teenager and has a music degree from Rhodes University. He composed this piece in 2014 and explains that it is among the few operas in the country that deals with an African story.
“We have started writing operas that elevate our stories. Madiba’s story is a story about all of us,” he says.
“As a young boy, I would hear music playing in my head… whether I’d be playing football with my friends or in class. I didn’t understand at the time. Then, a friend made me realise this music might be something I have to write every time I hear it.”
He has also composed two other operas – Blood of Mine and Amagokra. The latter will premiere on June 4 at the Novalis Ubuntu Institute in Wynberg.
Njeza, officially the university’s coordinator for community engagement and cultural life, has led the UWC Creative Arts Choir for 10 years, which has earned several accolades, including gold at the World Choir Games in 2018.
For more information visit: https://tickets.computicket.com/event/madiba_the_african_opera/6759693
Njeza started composing as a teenager and has a music degree from Rhodes University. He composed this piece in 2014 and explains that it is among the few operas in the country that deals with an African story.
“We have started writing operas that elevate our stories. Madiba’s story is a story about all of us,” he says.
“As a young boy, I would hear music playing in my head… whether I’d be playing football with my friends or in class. I didn’t understand at the time. Then, a friend made me realise this music might be something I have to write every time I hear it.”
He has also composed two other operas – Blood of Mine and Amagokra. The latter will premiere on June 4 at the Novalis Ubuntu Institute in Wynberg.
Njeza, officially the university’s coordinator for community engagement and cultural life, has led the UWC Creative Arts Choir for 10 years, which has earned several accolades, including gold at the World Choir Games in 2018.
For more information visit: https://tickets.computicket.com/event/madiba_the_african_opera/6759693
