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Oliver Mtukudzi to deliver Hugh Masekela lecture
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and heritage activist, Oliver Mtukudzi, will deliver the Hugh Masekela @ 75 Inaugural Annual Lecture. Respondents and discussants will include former first female SRC president at Fort Hare University, Nomsa Mazwai, and author and UJ chancellor, Prof Njabulo Ndebele.
The lecture, presented by The wRite Associates and the University of Johannesburg's (UJ) Faculty of Humanities, will be held at the UJ Soweto Campus on 9 September and a concert will be at the Soweto Theatre on 10 September, marking the 75th birthday of music legend Hugh Masekela.
The Hugh Masekela Lecture and Colloquia will be complemented by the Hugh Masekela music dialogue/masterclass workshops on 9 September and the Masekela & Mtukudzi Boutique Concert on 10 September.
Oliver Mtukudzi (Source: wwwnehandaradio.com)
Masekela's role in the SA music scene
Born on 4 April 1939 at Kwaguqa in Witbank, Hugh Masekela has been part of South Africa’s and Africa’s music scene since the 50s, and remains one of the world’s distinctive voices in the popular music and jazz genres.
At age 14, after seeing the film Young Man with a Horn (in which Kirk Douglas plays a character modelled after American jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke), Masekela started playing a trumpet donated to him by the anti-apartheid activist, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston.
As part of the Huddleston Jazz Band, in his teens, Masekela together with Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim), Kippie Moeketsi, Johnny Gertze and Makhaya Ntshoko formed the Jazz Epistles.
Following the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, Masekela left the country and later enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he studied classical trumpet from 1960 to 1964.
Human rights activist
In exile, alongside Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuku, Jonas Gwangwa and others, he played a major role in using the arts as an instrument of protest against the injustices and human rights abuses of apartheid South Africa.
“Bra Hugh’s iconic status as a musical, arts and human rights activist in Africa and the world remains inspiring and worthy of the celebration in South Africa and beyond,” said Morakabe Seakhoa, the managing director of the wRite associates and project director of the Hugh Masekela Annual Lecture and Colloquia.
Seakhoa said the Hugh Masekela at 75 celebration aims to create a platform for heritage, cultural, academic, art, and social discourse to celebrate, as well as reflect on Masekela’s philosophy, work and contribution to South Africa’s liberation and socio-economic betterment.”
African epistemology
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, UJ’s deputy vice-chancellor: Internationalisation, Institutional Advancement and Student Affairs, said the university was delighted to partner with the wRite associates in honouring Masekela: “Hugh Masekela’s legacy is in line with the university’s vision to foster ideas that are rooted in African epistemology, and also address the critical needs and aspirations of South African society and Africa in general. UJ has no doubt that arts and culture industries have a pivotal role in contributing to the continent’s sustainable growth and development.”
The lecture is open to the public, but confirmation is essential due to limited space. For confirmation, send your name and surname by SMS to 0784368703 or email info@writeassociates.co.za. For the concert, tickets at R250 are available at the Soweto Theatre website. www.sowetotheatre.com. The dress code for both events: Township Style
