Nobuntu

Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall

FREE! Reservations required. For Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff.

“Rich voices and exhilarating rhythms, both physical and vocal, poured out from the
stage to enchant a near-capacity crowd.”
--Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The five members of the a cappella ensemble Nobuntu from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe celebrate their identity as African women through their songs and dance, which feature the traditional sounds of their country rooted in Afro-jazz and gospel music, in their Connecticut debut. The ensemble formed in 2011 as the first professional all-female group to perform the mbube vocal style in the Southern African country. The name Nobuntu means "mother of ubuntu," an African concept that values humbleness, love, purpose, unity, and family from a woman’s perspective. Their common goal is to promote and preserve "ubuntu," the Nguni word meaning "compassion and humanity." Singing songs in Ndebele, Shona, Tonga, and English, the voices of Zanele Manhenga, Duduzile Sibanda-Mothobe, Heather Dube, Joyline Sibanda, and Thandeka Moyo transcend racial, tribal, religious, gender, and economic boundaries. They are accompanied by minimal percussion and instruments including the finger-plucked mbira (thumb piano).



Image by Werner Puntigam.