Dhow Countries Music Academy

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Taarab / Kidumbak Ensemble , 2015

The Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) is Zanzibar's first and only professional music school . It was founded in September 2002 and offers music and instrument lessons at low cost to anyone interested in the music of the so-called dhow countries and their cultural background or who would like to learn an instrument. Special emphasis is placed on teaching traditional musical instruments and styles, such as Taarab , Kidumbak , traditional Ngo'ma music and dances from the Unguja and Pemba regions .

aims

The DCMA sees itself as the custodian of the living cultural and musical heritage of Zanzibar and the dhow countries, whose seamen on the east coast of Africa traded with their sailing ships of the dhow type and with their goods also the musical styles and instruments from other parts of Africa, the Arab Space and the western world.

The school offers residents of Zanzibar and the Dhow region (the countries bordering the Indian Ocean ) a unique opportunity to study traditional music as well as genres of global music. While her main task is to convey music for education and entertainment, she is particularly concerned with expanding educational opportunities for young people, children and women. In addition, the DCMA is open to anyone interested, regardless of age, gender or religion.

Since its inception, the DCMA has achieved a growing international reputation as a high-quality musical training facility and was awarded the Roskilde Festival World Music Award for traditional music lessons in October 2010 . In a report in the Swiss magazine Eine Welt it was said: "The music academy on the Tanzanian island has become an important meeting place for the dynamic local cultural scene in recent years."

education

The DCMA academic curriculum provides high quality education for beginners and advanced students at certificate and diploma level. It also includes courses in the theory of Swahili music and the music of the dhow countries, i.e. oriental-Arabic music. In addition, the DCMA also offers the opportunity to study western music instruments.

The musical training offers:

  1. Individual and class lessons for singing and instruments such as violin , oud , qanun , cello , guitar , bass guitar , piano , keyboard , drums , accordion and flute as well as performance-related training.
  2. Certificate and diploma courses for practical vocal and instrumental lessons, as well as courses for the music theory of Swahili and the Dhau countries, i.e. oriental-Arabic music. The program also includes courses in ethnomusicology and music education.

While the main goal of the DCMA is to preserve and promote the musical heritage of Zanzibar and the Dhau region, there are also regular master classes, concerts and workshops with professional musicians of international styles ( jazz , hip-hop ), with lecturers, sound engineers, festival organizers etc. from all over the world. In addition, the DCMA offers seminars, exchange visits and network activities, e.g. B. the conference "Memory, Power and Knowledge in African Music and Beyond" in June 2015, in cooperation with the universities of Ghana, Nigeria, Mainz and Hildesheim.

Other educational activities

In addition to its activities in Zanzibar City , the DCMA started a program to provide musical education to rural communities in Zanzibar. The focus is on regions in which small traditional instrument groups are struggling to survive. Mahonda z. B. is a small village about 25 km outside of Stone Town . As a branch of the DCMA , the Mahona Center is aimed at people who already have some musical knowledge. They should be enabled to continuously improve and pass on their skills. Successful students are invited to complete full-time study at the DCMA in Stone Town that leads to certificates and diploma qualifications.

Bands of the DCMA

DCMA bands, students and teachers perform regularly in Zanzibar and enrich the cultural life in Zanzibar through concerts and performances in clubs and restaurants, e.g. B. with Taarab and Afro-Kabisa concerts, ie live Afro- Fusion music with jazz, funk , Afrobeat and Bongo-Flava . In addition, the DCMA regularly organizes special concerts by international guest musicians and public Ngoma workshops; the ngoma is a drum used by bantu speakers in central Africa and east Africa .

Some bands that emerged from the DCMA have gained prestige beyond Zanzibar:

  • The Taarab / Kidumbak Ensemble represents the traditional music of the western Indian Ocean, the instrumental and vocal styles of this amalgamation of Arabic and African music.
  • The Mapanya Band , founded in 2016, is one of the most promising young groups in Zanzibar and presents a mixture of Afro-Fusion, Hip-Hop and Reggae.
  • Siti and the Band was founded in 2015 when singer and oud player Siti Amina, Rahma Ameir (violin) and Gora Mohammed (Qanun) decided to fuse their roots of Taarab music with their personal musical influences.
  • Mcharuko has been present in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam since 2017, with a cocktail of African popular music styles under the direction of Christopher Anthony (jazz flute), with guitar, drums and vocals.
  • The Afro Jazz Group is a powerful mix of African, Arabic and Western styles.
  • The DCMA Ngoma Group , led by Zanzibar's drumming legend Mzee Kheri.

Since the founding of the DCMA several bands have presented themselves at international festivals in Tanzania, other African countries and other parts of the world. DCMA groups performed regularly at the Sauti za Busara Festival in Zanzibar between 2004 and 2018 , and the Taarab group at the Mela Festival in France. Between 2005 and 2017 the DCMA was present with its groups at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, the Taarab Ensemble performed at the Brave Festival in Poland in 2010, 2012 and 2015.

literature

  • Cornelia Rost: A house not just for the Taarab: The Dhow Countries Music Academy in Zanzibar. In: Folker . Issue 4, July 2018, pp. 52–56, short version

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ World music award of the Roskilde Festival for DCMA, 2010 On: worldmusiccentral.org from October 14, 2010
  2. ↑ Luca Beti: Zanzibar's moving rhythms. In: One world. Published by the Directorate for Development and Cooperation of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. No. 02/2018, pp. 38–40, full text (PDF)
  3. ^ Conference Memory, Power and Knowledge in African Music and Beyond of the Center for World Music of the University of Hildesheim in the DCMA, June 2015
  4. ↑ portal "Music in Africa" on Taarab / Kidumbak ensemble . On: musicinafrica.net , accessed June 28, 2018
  5. ^ Portal "Music in Africa" ​​via Mapanya-Band . On: musicinafrica.net , accessed June 28, 2018
  6. ^ Portal "Music in Africa" ​​via Siti and the Band . On: musicinafrica.net , accessed June 28, 2018
  7. ^ Taarab Ensemble at the Brave Festival in Poland