A Zimbabwean Musical Experience Through Afrocentric Performance: Contemporary Aesthetics and the Diaspora

November 11 Monday, 4:30pm | Oakley Center

Tendai-MuparutsaTony-Sheppard-scaled

Tendai Muparutsa, Artist in Residence in African Music Performance & Lecturer in Music at Williams College, Director of Zambezi, Co-Director of Kusika, in conversation with W. Anthony Sheppard, Marylin & Arthur Levitt Professor of Music at Williams College

African music has survived generations of change. Pre-colonial and post-colonial influences are still prevalent in its performance. However, the core of the music still remains but due to powerful internal and outside forces the music performance culture is changing. Context, instrumentation and audiences have become more global hence the performer has to conform to the irresistible forces at play. In this case the guest performs and discusses the ever changing place of traditional African music. Traditional music is becoming hybridized, to satisfy aesthetics from outside the known culture. The performance of such content is different given the structure of the modern performance halls, classrooms, outside summer band shells, amphitheaters and others.

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