Nhimbe Trust

FORTHCOMING RELEASE «« MUTARE | Rising star Mystery's singles collection to be released on the 9th of February, Manzwiro is a singles collection which comprises of music with different (mixed) emotions.
Produced by , Rodney Beatz, Golden Fingers, Nyasha Timbe, Bleqboi the Dan, Tr3y_t3ry, its definitely a project to look out for.
Link « https://youtu.be/sxT0AneEI4U

Photos from Bulawayo Arts Culture & Heritage Endowment Fund's post

Congrats Spencer & Dudue on your wedding…

Photos from Nyanga Arts Festival.'s post

Open Post-Budget Consultative Committee Meetings
Tuesday 29 November at 9 am

Portfolio Committee: Youth, Sports and Recreation
Meeting with the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, its parastatals and stakeholders.
Physical meeting
Venue: Committee Room No. 2
Note: All physical meetings are at the old Parliament Building
(using Kwame Nkrumah Avenue entrance, IDs are required)

NYANGA ARTS FESTIVAL: SUCCESS!
Nyanga Arts Festival.

The inaugural Nyanga Arts Festival rolled out from 27-29 October 2022 in Zimbabwe’s mountainous Eastern Highlands, attracting a combined audience of over 4000 in the small picturesque town, to exciting and diverse music events, theatre and workshops.
NHIMBE TRUST and the Nyanga Arts Festival Patron and organising committee have great pleasure in reporting the success of the inaugural festival, and thank all artists, partners, sponsors, volunteers for working together so powerfully to ensure that all objectives were met at a very high level, and thank all audiences for turning out in such numbers, which augurs well for the future of the festival, and the tourism potential of Nyanga.

Close to 600 (597) music-lovers attended the main concert at the Montclair Hotel which featured popular Zimbabwean artists Jah Prayzah, Feli Nandi and MC Abisha Palmer, who raised a stir with lively performances at the luxurious venue. Never-before-seen in this part of the world, but widely admired from radio broadcasts, the artists fired up the crowd, both locals and visitors alike, with modern African music styles spiced by the boldness of youth and fame.

A crowd estimated at 2000 swarmed the ‘Bira’ at the rural homestead of festival patron Chief Saunyama, where they were treated to performances by Sarungano and the Storytellers band, the mysterious artist Mystery, and the main act, the Mangoma Moyo-led ‘Music According to Percussion’.

MAP, as they are commonly known, brought into the spotlight ancient traditional styles of drumming, singing and instrumentation which had been hidden in the depths of decades of overriding music cultures, and almost forgotten for lack of exposure. This received the approval of village elders, culture-bearers who were overwhelmed to hear their music played again, and at the invitation of the band, surged onto the stage to perform with, and even taking over the band at different points in the performance.
Acknowledged and embraced by young people with renewed respect and pride, the MAP performance also introduced new dimensions – augmenting the Jekunje drumming, Nyonganyonga/Malimba mbira music and Nyanga panpipes with electrical instruments while still keeping its core rhythmic and harmonic structures. Added to this, to the delight of the audience was the new experience of hearing four women instrument-players - Melody Mutembo (drumkit), Zvikomborero Matimba (bass), Vivian Tavaziva (percussion) and Chiedza Tiyenga (mbira), together with the three men in the group - Takudzwa Bare, Kudzai Muwori and Othnell ‘Mangoma’ Moyo.

THEATRE
‘AN ACT OF MAN’, the one-man play featuring Zenzo Nyathi, was presented at the festival to an audience of around 2000, caught up in the enthralling story woven and crafted by famous Bulawayo actor/directors Memory Kumbota and Zenzo Nyathi. Described online by theatre guru Daves Guzha as ‘an environmental tale like no other … the earth in turmoil!’ and ‘… seamless direction by Memory Kumbota’, the play, which can be delivered in any setting from sophisticated theatre stages to outdoor arenas with the most rudimentary amenities, was delivered to a huge crowd at the Maereka Primary School, and the impact on the audience of students, teachers, and other community members was evident by their intense interest and questions to the artists after the performance.

Kumbota said the rural community at Maereka primary school was the perfect setting for the environmental play. It fitted in and was so well embraced that it has inspired ideas of rural touring and schools shows and workshops in future.

MUSIC BUSINESS MASTERCLASS
Melody Zambuko, Director of Music Crossroads Zimbabwe, who moderated the Music Business Masterclass on Thursday 27 October facilitated by renowned drummer and former band manager Sam Mataure and industry expert Lisa Sidambe, reported that the masterclass was very successful. Attended by 55 artists and arts practitioners, including artists performing at the festival from Bulawayo and Harare and local artists from Nyanga, the success of the programme was made possible by the support of the Nyangani Community Radio Station who were very helpful in spreading the word of the workshop, and very excited about it, as were the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation.

“I thought the workshop was very resourceful, very relevant, and very well received” said Zambuko. “I believe it was much needed, because among the participants were a number of artists from Nyanga who are already practicing musicians, but in discussion on important elements of the music business, we realised they were not knowledgeable in quite a number of areas. So it was important to unpack and go a level deeper, in terms of the tricks behind touring and booking, and understanding of intellectual property. Participants were very eager, with a lot of questions. For the future, this workshop would need a full day. I was very happy with the overall success of the programme and that we were able to increase their understanding of the subject matter. Linked with that it was important for us to partner with Nhimbe Trust on the festival as it also gave very good visibility for the Music Crossroads Academy for those who want to go to the next level; they can then pursue the different training courses and programmes in more detail,” she said.

Sam Mataure said “Nyanga was great, and the festival was a great success. We had a good turnout for the workshop but realized that there’s need for more of such workshops to help the artists with information. Waiting until festival time is not enough.”

CHIEF SAUNYAMA, the Patron of the festival, said: “Congratulations to the people of Nyanga on the inaugural edition of the Nyanga Arts Festival, the first in the district. We used to envy other districts and provinces such as Chimanimani, Harare and Bulawayo, and now we are grateful for the support received from the local tourism sector, and all stakeholders in Manicaland province. The festival is key in promoting local arts, culture and heritage as well as showcasing Nyanga resort town as a tourism destination of choice. We look forward to an even bigger and more exciting festival in 2023 and invite both old and new partners to complement Nhimbe Trust in preparing for the next edition.

BRIAN NYAKUTOMBWA, General Manager of Montclair Hotel & Casino, said: "The festival was successfully hosted and enjoyed by all who took part, from the organizers to the festival guests. The planned shows and activities took place without incident and were executed professionally. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made it possible.

We have been receiving lots of good feedback about the show content and logistics issues and I can safely say that the next edition will definitely be bigger and better.

As the hospitality industry we are happy that this dimension of the MICE business (Meetings Incentives Conferences Exhibitions & Events) presents endless opportunities for businesses and local communities to benefit from the hosting of such events which should spur economic development in the region towards achieving upper middle income status by 2030 as well as enable the achievement of the $5 billion tourism economy target by 2025.”

Nhimbe Trust Executive Director Josh Nyapimbi received a message of thanks from the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation for the Trust’s presence as an NGO in the arts industry, conceptualisation and design of a festival of this magnitude, and for bringing in the partnership with Music Crossroads Zimbabwe.

The Honourable Supa Mandiwanzira, Nyanga South Member of Parliament, said:
"The festival was a great showcase of Nyanga. A very good start. The interest was amazing... People travelled from many parts of the country to be in Nyanga. I have no doubt that next year it will be bigger and better with more local participation by the local artistes … we have to always remember that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement!"

Godfrey Koti, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) head of corporate affairs said:
For us as the ZTA we are quite happy that the festival came to Nyanga. This is a place that is known to people locally, but we believe that this has brought in an international spin to it. The attention that we have been seeing in the media has been absolutely excellent. It helps us to market our product, to push it to different levels and different market segments, and those that follow music, that love culture and the activities that were showcased during the festival, are now definitely new potential tourism clients.

The collaboration with arts and music is such a huge thing for ZTA. Together with the Bulawayo Arts Festival, the recently ended Sanganai/Hlanganani Music Festival, the Nyaminyami Festival in Kariba, and now the Nyanga Arts Festival, this gives us a holistic approach to tourism. You cannot divorce arts and entertainment from tourism. So the best way to market it is to collaborate, and we are very grateful to the organisers for putting such a show together.
We are really elated and look forward to the second edition when any small glitches will have been fixed and we will have a bigger and better show in the next edition. We are very grateful to the organisers and everyone who took part; we are thankful to them for helping us to promote this beautiful brand - Zimbabwe, The World of Wonders.”

Photos from Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe's post

Legends meet at Nyanga Arts Festival - Memory Kumbota and SAM Tendai Mataure - it's ON! Sam Mataure speaks on Music Business at the Masterclass today, and Memory Kumbota directs Zenzo Nyathi in the play ACT OF MAN, Friday 28 Oct at Maereka Primary School.

Sat 29 Oct | CONCERT | Montclair Hotel

JAH PRAYZAH (Mukudzeyi Mukombe) is a leading Zimbabwean contemporary musician and lead member of the band Third Generation. He is popularly referred to by fans and media as "Musoja", the Shona word for "soldier", a name he earned mostly because of his signature band uniform of military regalia. The name "Jah Prayzah" comes from his name, "Mukudzeyi", which means "Praise Him".

Starting out in his music career in 2005, he grew swiftly, released his first album in 2006, and went on to release 10 more as well as a number of single releases over the years.

Between 2013 and 2018 alone he won 11 awards from the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) along with Zimbabwe Peace Ambassador award (2013) and Zim Dream Online award (2014). He became the first Zimbabwean to win an MTV African Music Award in the Listeners Choice category in October 2016. In 2019 he was nominated for the Best Male Artist in Southern Africa in the All Africa Music Awards.

Performing widely with his band and in music collaborations with various other artists, Jah Prayzah continues to thrill audiences around Zimbabwe and beyond, his popularity unabated.

Sat 29 Oct | CONCERT | Montclair Hotel

FELI NANDI
The popular afro fusion artist Feli Nandi (Felistus Chipendo) started singing professionally in 2017 as a backing vocalist, and moved up to a solo career in 2020. She released her first collection of 14 singles under ‘I am Nandi’, and later the album ‘Izwi’ in 2022.

Along the way she has collaborated on music projects with several artists including Trevor Dongo, Solution GC, Progress Chipfumo, Batsirai Shasha, and Holy Ten.

Feli Nandi toured to South Africa early this year, and to the UK in August for the ‘Zimfest’ Festival 2022 where she was warmly received.

Sat 29 Oct | CONCERT | Montclair Hotel
MC ABISHA PALMER

MC Abisha Palmer (Tendai Abisha Zenda) is a versatile entertainer who started out five years ago with the Judgement Yard stable before diverting to his solo musical journey, and has since won two awards as Best Zim Dancehall MC. He has shared the stage with international dancehall musicians from Jamaica, the likes of Busy Signal, Charley Black, Capleton, I Octain, Chris Martin and Kalado and also headlined big Zim dancehall events as the host MC, and entertained huge crowds at big events such as the OK grand challenge, corporate anniversary events, and launches. He treasured the opportunity to perform at two shows with Dr Oliver Mtukudzi at the Montclair Hotel in Nyanga, before he passed on.

For the past 4 years Abisha has been a radio presenter on ZiFM stereo, hosting the show “Zim_Dancehall_Empire” which plays commercial dancehall and reggae music every Saturday afternoon, and also old school rnb as well as hip hop and the trending amapiano music, and not forgetting our Zimbabwean heritage songs from way back in time.

Outside radio he is a freelance club DJ and although his radio personality is different from his stage set, his aim has and will always be to make people dance and enjoy a musical performance of a lifetime.

Friday 28 Oct, 2-5pm, BIRA Saunyama's Homestead

‘MUSIC ACCORDING TO PERCUSSION’ (MAP) is a music ensemble from Zimbabwe which sets Percussion as the sole driver of its music. MAP is led by Othnell ‘Mangoma’ Moyo, Zimbabwe master hand-drummer, playing a number of percussion instruments, accompanied by women singers and percussionists, and bass, lead guitar and keyboards.

The root of MAP's rhythms is the Ngoma drum, the oldest type of African drum, and rhythms used for centuries in Southern and Central Africa to send messages, to summon people for rain-making or other ancient rituals, for celebrations and other festivities. These Ngoma rhythms are accompanied by powerful clapping and hosho-playing. The melodies are adopted from the Mbira, Ngororombe, Marimba, Chipendane, Chitende, and an array of Zimbabwean traditional melodic instruments.

After dominating traditional music for centuries, in more recent years the Ngoma has been used only as an accompanying instrument in modern music setups. Some Mbira have nearly reached extinction, and MAP restores these instruments to the forefront of the ensemble, as the lead instruments, in their traditional role.

Overlaying these pulses, MAP branches out to embrace other percussion instruments and styles from around Zimbabwe and her neighbours, playing instruments including Marimba, Mbira, Xigubhu, Gandira/Ndandanda, and custom-made tunable Ngoma and timbales. They shift from technical artistry to a more trance-like style that requires certain levels of concentration and ‘takes one to places one has never been before’. Along with traditional southern African styles are flavours of reggae and salsa, funk and Asian styles.

The vocals incorporate Ndebele-style harmonies of southern Africa, Shona yodelling, Shangana and Griot styles, a colourful array of folklore and contemporary singing. They sing of thankfulness, creativity, encouragement, change. In true African oral tradition they sing of warnings and advice, the ills of poverty and a rebuke to xenophobia.

In much demand at home, Mangoma has also represented Zimbabwe in many countries in international festivals and venues, and taken part in a number of international musical collaborations with artists from South Africa, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Norway, Austria, Sweden, France, Indonesia, India and the USA. Mangoma and MAP have two albums to their credit, which can be found on YouTube and Soundcloud.

www.mapmusiczw.com

Friday 28 Oct, 2-5pm, BIRA Saunyama's Homestead

SARUNGANO & THE STORY TELLERS BAND
Sarungano, (Innocent Kufakunesu) is a Zimbabwean musician (guitar, mbira) who leads the band The Story Tellers. He is a product of Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton, nurtured and groomed by the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi, and has a singles collection of 16 tracks, available on all digital platforms.

Sarungano said, “We are very excited to be part of the Nyanga Arts Festival, performing at the homestead of Chief Saunyama where we will be celebrating the jekunje dance and nyonganyonga malimba. For our band - having been nurtured by Dr Mtukudzi, who was an advocate of maintaining our traditional way of doing things, our tradition values - it comes as very special to us in that we also believe in our culture as Zimbabweans and Africans, that it must be maintained, preserved, we must not lose it. We have special instruments and dances that identify us as Zimbabweans, we believe in the origin of our culture, in the religion that our forefathers subscribed to. So this festival really goes well with our own beliefs and we are looking forward to this special performance. We are coming with our full band, selecting very strategic songs that go hand in hand with preserving our culture.”

Friday 28 Oct, 2-5pm, BIRA Saunyama's Homestead

MYSTERY (Nigel Musa) is a singer and songwriter from Mutare, in the afro-fusion genre. Award-winner of the 2021 Manicaland Creative Awards and 2nd runner-up of the Starbrite Zimbabwe 2020 competition, Mystery continues to work tirelessly to cement his place in the Zimbabwean music industry.

Mystery is about to drop his 1st Single Collection titled Manzwiro this year, starting with the latest single titled Dai Zvaibvira which is now available on all digital platforms. Dai Zvaibvira follows the previously released Zvinoita and Superwoman, among others.

Fri 28 Oct | 9am – 1pm | Maereka Primary School
‘AN ACT OF MAN’
Featuring Zenzo Nyathi - actor, community theatre trainer/consultant, climate & smart agriculture champion; Director of Ingxoxo Arts

Directed by Memory Kumbota - actor, director, trainer, consultant; Founder of
Global Collaborative Creations

A rain diviner is forced to look not only to past traditions but also to the future, to try to come to terms with his own personal misfortunes and the natural disasters of droughts and floods. Told through a zestful mix of storytelling, mime, dance and song, the one-hander play adventurously interrogates the role that traditional knowledge systems and science play in a fast-changing world and in climate change intervention.

FIRST UP on the Nyanga programme, Thursday 27 Oct, is the MUSIC BUSINESS Masterclass, with SAM MATAURE veteran drummer, and former band and tour manager for the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi - a rich experience to share. Sam hails from this part of the country, the nearby City of Mutare, and the masterclass also hears from experts in the field, Music Crossroads director MELODY ZAMBUKO and LISA SIDAMBE for Nhimbe Trust.

There's a whole lot going on!: The NAF programme

A GREAT WEEKEND STAY - Nyanga Arts Festival main festival partner, the Montclair Hotel is set in spacious grounds with luxurious accommodation, outdoor facilities and all the fun of the Casino. Other accommodation can be found at the Pinetree Inn and Village Inn, who are also partners of the festival, and other establishments in the surrounding area.

SAFETY FIRST - The Festival joined the nation in mourning the young souls lost in the Tynwald School Bus accident that occurred on Friday 14 October in Juliasdale, Nyanga. For all road users everywhere - PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY.

Nyanga Arts Festival organisers said they were pleasantly surprised by the high level of organization and sense of community responsibility, and grateful to Nyanga volunteers who embarked on a clean-up exercise at Juliasdale.

NYANGA ARTS FESTIVAL is upon us! THIS weekend, unfolding in the beautiful rolling hills and fresh mountain air of Nyanga in the Eastern Highlands - starting with Music Business Masterclass on Thursday 27 Oct - through to the main Concert at MONTCLAIR Hotel on Sat 29 Oct - Don't miss this!