Kumkanikazi Mtshemla

Biography

I am an improvising musician from Komani ,195,6 km from East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. My musical journey began in 2003 through a non-profit initiative under the theme SoulRise in East London and Komani formally known as Queenstown. Through my family background, growing up I was exposed to a myriad of music styles including choral music or amakwayala, xhosa indigenious music, or folk songs Methodist hymns, pop, at al. I was born into a very musical family, as both my parents are musicians, my mother a singer and composer, as well as my father a piano accordion player. My maternal grandmother was a singer, percussionist and composer. On the other hand, my paternal grandmother was an organist and her husband, my grandfather was a choir master. My paternal grandfather`s sister then Shumikazi Mtshemla was a vocalist of the African Quavers of East London , whom one of its founders was veteran South African musician Eric Nomvete.

Musical Journey of Becoming

I consider myself as a musicians that is in a journey of becoming, a great human. Though I come I would like to believe from royalty when it comes to music, however, my journey is different from most musicians because, I only studied music formally many years later after matriculating from Queenstown Girls High School in 1999. In 2013, I enrolled at the University of Fort Hare, for a Bachelor of Music Degree, under the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, where, I am currently researching about Siya Makuzeni and the Voice of Women in jazz in South Africa. As a vocally trained singer, starting out in classical music, then later specializing in jazz vocal singing, and that studied under the guidance of Professor Bleibinger, Mrs Gwyneth Loyd, Mr Ncozana, Mr Milisi, Jermaine Gamiet, Prof Zoliswa Twani and more recently, Mrs Nomagugu Makhathini ,and Mr Nduduzo Makhathini.

Some of my achievements include being selected In 2013 as one of five music students from the University of Fort Hare who were selected to be part of the Masithi Singers and performed in Munchin, and in the Catholic communities of different towns in Bavaria, as part of the Ludwig Missionsverein 175 Jahre celebration festivals. Within and outside of the university space (s), I have been blessed and humbled to have performed in bandstands with some of the masters within jazz in South Africa from both the older and younger generations, including Louis Moholo Moholo, Feya Faku, Lulama Gawulana, Andile Yenana, Ayanda Sikade, Nduduzo Makhathini, Mandla Mlangeni, SIsonke Xhonti, Sakhile Simani, Sibusiso Mashiloane, Lwanda Gogwana, Thembinkosi Mavimbela and Ariel Zamonosky. These experiences have influenced my musical perspective as an improvising musician in my becoming. Other highlights as an improvising musicians include performing with the UFH Jazz Band at the Eastern Cape Music Stage (Dakawa) as part of the 2016 National Arts Festival program. As well as in 2017, when I was among the University of Fort Hare music students that were part of a Swiss/SA collaboration of Dominique Egli`s ensemble, Plurism featuring Feya Faku, where I featured on vocals and spoken word. Lastly, the River Song Arts Festival in Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, whose line-up included Madosini, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Madala Kunene among other masters of their craft and featuring at the annual Chris Hani Jazz festivals in Komani. In 2018, I was among students and musicians that performed with the Grammy Award winning Lady Smith Black Mambazo at Guild Theatre in East London in the Eastern Cape.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG2imEghL-4
https://www.missio.com/images/Dateien/missio-jahresbericht-2013.pdf