Kutsinhira

Kutsinhira
Cultural Arts Center
Dedicated to the music and people of Zimbabwe
F A L L / W I N T E R
2 0 1 0
Beyond zimfest
Zimfest was the culmination of our 2010 ZimbaSPECIAL POINTS
bwean guest season, and a
OF INTEREST:
tremendous success! We
love to visit and study
Beyond Zimfest
with the wide array of
Zimbabwean, US and CaStrategic Planning nadian teachers there, and
to see them enjoying one
Sessions
another’s company as
well.
Julia Tsitsi Chigamba and friends.
New Fall Classes
We have now bid a
Photo: Mark Cohen
fond
farewell
to
our
good
It Takes a Village:
friends Cosmas Magaya and
liams College in western MasKutsinhira Youth
Musekiwa Chingodza, with
sachusetts.
Nel Applegate and Tim
With money earned on
Mueller hosting a fine party
this tour, Musekiwa was able
for the occasion in their
to purchase a corn grinding
beautiful backyard. The
mill which he will set up in
next day, we put Musekiwa
the large town of Murewa.
Congratulations to the
on the plane back to Zimba
He thus intends to earn
organizers of Zimfest 2010! -bwe, and Cosmas, a day
steady income to continue
It was a rousing success!
later, left for his three
sending his children to school
month residency at Wiland meet other expenses –
Marilyn Kolodziejczyk
which have increased considerably in Zimbabwe
since dollarization. Cosmas
is putting his money towards family expenses, and
also looks forward to improving his well-situated
new stand, on former national reserve lands near
Beatrice. He hopes eventually to create there a residential school for Zimbabwean music and cultural arts, one which will embrace all cultures in Zimbabwe and will welcome students and visitors! His dream
is to welcome many Kutsinhira members there someday, as well as to support an
mbira program and mbira
makers, along with dance,
marimba, drumming, etc.
(cont. page 3)
Strategic Planning session
Chris Bennett
Kutsinhira has grown
and changed as an organization over the past twenty
years. There are great opportunities available to us
to be even more effective
at sharing the culture and
music of Zimbabwe.
In order to put to use
our collaborative brainpower, we are holding two
participatory workshops for
strategic planning, one on
November 6 and one on December 4 (Saturdays). You
are invited to attend both of
these sessions as they build
on each other. Each session
will last four hours, from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. The sessions
will be facilitated by Kutsinhira board member Chris
Bennett. Please bring your
opinions, dreams and an open
mind, and help Kutsinhira
take its next step forward.
This is an important and exciting venture for us and all
are welcome. Please contact
Charlene Talkington by October 30 if you plan to attend
([email protected]).
PAGE
2
Jennifer Kyker.
Photo Mark Cohen.
I think that being
entrusted with positions of
responsibility in Kutsinhira,
and in other organizations
has influenced who I
am. Young people are
capable of great things,
and should take
responsibility for doing
their fair share of the
work. — Alex Weeks,
Member of Hokoyo,
Zimfest 2010 Lead
Organizer
Marilyn
Koloziejczyk,
Musekiwa
Chingdoza, and
Bud Cohen.
Photo by Mark
Cohen.
New Mbira Class
Jennifer Kyker, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology
at the University of Pennsylvania, who has studied
mbira intensively with Tute
Chigamba, Musekiwa Chingodza, and Cosmas Magaya, is leading a new Intermediate Mbira class at
Kutsinhira this Fall. Jennifer
has recorded and performed with a wide range
of artists, including Musekiwa Chingodza, Mhembero, Kudana Marimba,
Chris Berry and Panjea, and
the Paul Winter Consort.
Participants will 1) work on
paired kutsinhira and kushaura parts, exploring the
relationship between these
parts and the hosho in order to develop an understanding of the dynamic
energy of an mbira ensemble; 2) learn unique variations for many well-known
songs such as Nyamaropa
and Taireva, in order to
extend the possibilities for
improvisation and variation
available to intermediate
players; and 3) learn at least
one new gandanga song,
most likely a Tute Chigamba composition, to give
players a feel for the gandanga instrument, tuning,
and repertory. Additionally,
Jennifer will consult with
students to identify songs
where a few singing lines
can be introduced, to give
students a feel for how
singing and mbira can complement each other.
To sign up, please contact Barb MacWilliam
at [email protected] or
541-689-1886.
Fall Classes
Welcome back to our
many returning marimba
and mbira students!
We will miss the great
talents of past teachers
Mandy WalkerLaFollette and Jake Roberts, but we wish them
well in their college careers! Special thanks to
our returning teachers,
Gary Spalter, Wanda
Walker, and Bud
Cohen, for continuing the
journey with us.
Fall Term is packed with
quite a selection of classes.
(Two mbira and eight marimba classes, to be exact!)
We are proud to be
able to offer beginning
classes in marimba AND
mbira this term. Bud
Cohen lends his skills to
the marimba class while
Marilyn Mohr is teaching
our new mbira students. If
you are interested in getting on the waiting list for
either beginning class,
please contact Lynne
Swift at [email protected].
For the more experienced player, we have
added one class taught by
Jennifer Kyker. She is
offering an intermediate
mbira class on Sundays
from 3-4:30 pm. Please
email Barb MacWilliam
at [email protected] if
you are interested in joining
this class.
Want to have a blast
making music with other
people? Join us for our Fall
Term Marimba Jam. This
will be for players of all
levels. We know it will be
on a Friday between 6:30
and 8:30 pm at the Center,
but we haven’t picked a
date yet! More information
will be sent via the Kutsinhira website and listserv as
it becomes available.
Have a great term every
-one,
Barb MacWilliam
Education Director
Beyond Zimfest, cont.
It is good to see that the financial opportunities that Kutsinhira extends to these great
musicians are being used to
benefit many people in Zimbabwe.
On the horizon, we have
two new visiting teacher residencies planned: Kurai Blessing
Mubaiwa in February/March
2011, and Patience Chaitezvi
later in the year (the dates have
not yet been set due to uncertainty about Zimfest 2011).
Kurai, whose lively solo
mbira plus dancing act wowed
us at Zimfest, also has a lot to
offer in the way of teaching
marimba and singing. He will
arrive in time to attend our
Annual Membership Meeting at
the end of February, and stay to
teach at Kutsinhira classes and
private lessons through the
following two weeks. We’ll
arrange for some sort of performance too.
Patience Chaitezvi impressed
us all during her last visit to
Kutsinhira in 2009. She is such
a knowledgeable and hardworking teacher, eloquent in
her accounts of Zimbabwean
culture, expert in mbira, dance,
drumming, that we knew we
would want to bring her back
for a
longer
stay!
We will
keep
you
posted
on the
dates of
her
residency as soon as we can work
them out.
Please contact Marilyn Kolodziejczyk at [email protected]
for further information about
any of our past and future Zimbabwean guests.
Zimbabwe community development project
PAGE
3
Marilyn K, Musekiwa
& Cosmas, Zimfest
2010
Photo: Mark Cohen
"We learned a way to do
mbira hosho from
Kutsinhira created the
ZCDP in 2001 with the intention of sending financial support
to organizations and projects
that are working to directly
benefit communities in Zimbabwe with whom Kutsinhira has
a close relationship. This year
the decision was made to support four great projects that
are making a huge difference in
the lives of Zimbabweans.
Ancient Ways, founded by
Jaiaen Beck, has two successful
projects, Nhimbe for Progress
and Jangano, that have provided
a wide range of services in rural
Zimbabwe since 1999.
www.ancient-ways.org.
Tariro, founded by Jennifer
Kyker in 2003, is providing
school fees and educational support for over 50 girls and young
women who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty. www.tariro.org
Mhondoro Frontline Medical
provides funds to St. Michael's
hospital and other rural clinics in
the Mhondoro region to help
them access necessary medical
supplies.
Kutsinhira's 2011 artist in
residence, Patience Chaitezvi,
teaches at Chinoyi High
School. There are over 600
students who are orphaned and
Membership
It's that time of year again,
when we call on your friendship
and support. Your contribution keeps Kutsinhira Cultural
Arts Center running in the
black, helps to fund the Zimbabwe Community Development Project, and so much
more!
As a member of Kutsinhira
you'll continue to stay informed
of upcoming events, receive a
generous discount on
classes, workshops, t-shirts,
and a great collection of CDs
for sale at the Center, online
and at gigs.
Within you'll find the membership form. Please mail it to
us with your check, or visit our
web site:http://
www.kutsinhira.org/wiki/
index.php/About_Kutsinhira if
you would like to use PayPal.
For those of you in classes
have no way to pay for the pencils and exercise books needed
to be successful in school.
The Chinoyi High School
School Supply Fund provides
these materials for as many
children as possible.
All four of these organizations depend heavily on small,
grassroots donations. Whether
you are taking classes, attending performances, joining in
workshops with visiting teachers, or just purchasing a yearly
membership, you can be certain
you are making a difference in
Zimbabwe today.
Musekiwa that works
better for me than other
ways I was taught." "Since
Musekiwa and Patience
grew up in Zimbabwe,
they know their culture
and music even better
than someone who visited,
even if they visited for a
very long time."
Eli Calalang-LaCroix,
Kutsinhira Masaisai youth
group student
Maggie Donahue
and ensembles, you can conveniently renew
your Kutsinhira membership at
the Center.
Thank you
so much,
Karen Howe
Facilities
Manager,
Membership
Coordinator
Mark Cohen
Zimfest
2010
Kutsinhira
Cultural Arts Center
P.O. Box 26111
Watch for special fundraising efforts to augment
the financial support Kutsinhira can offer
the 2011 recipient organizations through our
Zimbabwe Community Development Project
(ZCDP). The first will be a benefit concert
by
Eugene, OR 97402
Zvakanaka, Wanda Walker's youth
Friday, October 29th, 7pm at
Cozmic Pizza. Proceeds will go to purchase
group.
Phone: (541) 345-9454
http://www.kutsinhira.org
Dedicated to the music
and people of Zimbabwe.
school supplies for students at Chinoyi High
School who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS
and poverty. Come enjoy the show and know
that your very attendance assists children in
Zimbabwe.
It Takes a village...
Teresa Hawkes Dunyati-Long,
incoming Newsletter Editor
Some people have grown up
in Kutsinhira.
Who and what is Kutsinhira,
and why is it good that kids are
growing up in this “village?”
Kutsinhira is a cultural arts
and global aid initiative organization based in Eugene, Oregon.
We are part of a larger movement throughout North America
dedicated to the cultural arts of
the people of Zimbabwe. Kutsinhira is part of a growing movement of local political, economic,
and cultural arts organizations
participating in outreach throughout the Euroamericano, Asian and
African cultural complexes
(google: aid organizations, cultural
arts organizations, global initiative). Around the globe a new
generation of children are being
raised in such organizations. They
are active, aware of global issues,
and in close personal contact
with people from diverse racial,
Traditional dance. Tariro.org
socio-economic, and cultural
backgrounds. This new generation is taking on leadership roles
in many of the organizations they
have grown up in They are members of groups like Tariro and
Hokoyo, both outgrowths of
Kutsinhira. Tariro’s founder,
Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Kyker,
was 10 when she came to Kutsinhira. Tariro actively fundraises
for girls orphaned by HIV/AIDS
in Zimbabwe. Tariro has paid
school fees, bought uniforms and
study materials, and provided
musical instruments. Hokoyo
played many benefits for Tariro
as well as other ZCDP projects. Several of Hokoyo's
members took positions of
responsibility within Kutsinhira
(board member and webmaster) and other non-profits
(Tariro and Frontline Medical). It's also pretty impressive
that these young people took on
the central leadership and planning for this year's highly successful Zimfest (zimfest.org), held in
Corvallis at Oregon State University. Happily these vibrant young
people are
just at the
beginning of
their contributions
as responsible, innovative global
citizens.
Hokoyo, Photo: Mark Cohen