Mikaela Marget and I are beginning our third year teaching as a duo called Heliopsis. This year, we will be changing up the instruments that we use and the style of our teaching, bringing in more storytelling and the African string instruments with greater emphasis. We will continue to play original music for various traditional …
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I am grateful to have been selected as one of none finalists under consideration for a McKnight Musician Fellowship in 2023. Although I was not selected to receive the financial support, I am honored to have been recognized for my unique musical voice and the contribution I wish to continue to bring to my community. …
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It is with excitement that I share I have accepted the nomination to join the Recording Academy as a voting member. I’m honored to be part of the new @RecordingAcademy member class and join the countless creators and professionals who serve, celebrate, and advocate for our music community year-round. #IAmTheAcademy You can read more about the …
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Mikaela Marget and I have enjoyed MPR Class Notes so much that we are signing up for a second year teaching as a duo called Heliopsis, creating improvisational works featuring Timbila, Mbira, and Cello. When choosing a duo name, Mikaela Marget and Nyttu Chongo wanted something that reflected joy and light. They settled on Heliopsis, the …
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I am honored to share that I have been named a 2022 MacPhail Global Music Initiative Artist-in-Residence. As it is stated on the MacPhail website, the GMI Artist-in-Residence Program offers 8-month residencies at MacPhail Center for Music to foster cultural change in our communities through passion and creativity in music. Believing that supporting and investing …
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Last night’s performance at the the Cedar Cultural Center’s 2022 Cedar Commissions was an incredible time of celebration of many things: Home, our Ancestors, Pain, Loss, and the Connections we have with each other. It was my joy to present Nkovu Wa Xivavu, “A Celebration of Pain” on the Cedar’s stage. With just three months …
I am so grateful and honored to be featured this year as one of the Cedar Cultural Center’s 2022 Cedar Commission artists. This Friday, I will be performing Nkovu Wa Xivavu, which means “A Celebration of Pain” on the Cedar’s stage at around 8:30PM, between two other amazing artists who are also commissioned artists for …
On September 16, 2021 the preview of our duo’s edition of Class Notes with MPR made its debut. I have been collaborating with the wonderful Mikaela Marget as a duo called Heliopsis over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating improvisational works featuring Timbila, Mbira, and Cello. When choosing a duo name, Mikaela Marget …
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The CD release celebration on 6/30/2021 was a special day for me–thank you to the 45 individuals who stopped by to listen to my album and celebrate life together. It was such a joyful day, and I was honored to have each of you there. A special thanks to the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts …
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This album is highly personal. It lifts up the joys and anguish of being an artist and musician in a world that values productivity. It is both a celebration of life and a cry for help, it is both a prayer for peace and a call for justice. I believe that I was called to …
Continue reading “About LIBANDZUWA, My Album Being Released Next Wednesday”
