Zambia

Zambian Classical Music Academy Quickens Cadence of Student Proficiency, Public Interest in Genre

In a nation where classical music is widely perceived as the province of the elite, Ngoma Dolce Music Academy is breaking down class barriers.

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Zambian Classical Music Academy Quickens Cadence of Student Proficiency, Public Interest in Genre

Publication Date

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – A fresh breeze blows through the tranquil Kabulonga residential area, a low-density, high-income township in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

Down a narrow gravel road sits an unfinished building beside a large plot of vacant land. The area is home to large, multiroomed houses. But this building is different.

Inside this building, the newly constructed rooms are filled with guitars, drums, pianos and other musical instruments.

The new building is the home of the Ngoma Dolce Music Academy, the country’s first classical music school.

After several months of construction, the classrooms and music library are finished. Construction of the concert hall will begin next, says academy co-founder and co-director Moses Kalomo, a classical musician, conductor and music teacher.

Kalomo first told longtime colleague Paul Kelly of his dream of opening a music academy while the two were on a music tour in 2008, Kalomo says. The friends joined forces to realize their goal in 2010, when they opened the first incarnation of the academy in a rented room in Rhodes Park, another township in Lusaka.

The academy has since had several homes, but the new building will be its permanent home, co-director Kelly says.

The new building has nine classrooms, each for teaching a different instrument, and a library.

In Zambia, classical music is generally perceived as music for the elite, local musicians say. But Kalomo says his academy is breaking down class barriers by allowing more locals to learn and appreciate the music at an affordable cost.

Kalomo taught himself to play the violin as a child. But when he approached the Lusaka Music Society about 20 years ago, he was denied entry. The LMS, a group of instrumental and voice performers who meet weekly and perform at classical music concerts, told him he was not good enough to join. That fueled his desire to improve his proficiency.

Unfortunately, there were no local music schools or classes that were accessible to Lusaka’s non-elite. When Kalomo was in fifth grade, he found a teacher in neighboring Zimbabwe who would give him lessons. For two years, he took the 40-minute bus ride across the border every weekend.

“Those days, transport was not very good,” Kalomo says. “Sometimes, when I didn’t get a bus back to Zambia, I could sleep at the station.”

Kalomo was finally accepted into the LMS at age 20. He went on to become a conductor and a music teacher at the International School of Lusaka. He also became the country’s representative of the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, or ABRSM, administering musical competency tests to musicians from throughout the country.

Kalomo says his lack of access to affordable musical education led him to dream of founding the country’s first music academy.

“For me, this was the main reason why the academy was born, because, in the past, it was difficult to get in, as this was for the elite,” he says. “We have a lot of indigenous Zambians. We have students from Kamulanga School, and similar underprivileged areas, with others on scholarships to study at the academy.”

The academy provides lessons to paying students, ranging from 5 to over 50 years old, on string, brass and other instruments. Piano, vocal and guitar lessons are also popular, Kalomo says.

In the future, the academy aims to host recitals and lectures. It also will become a place where musicians can meet and collaborate, Kelly says.

Since 2010, the academy has taught more than 600 students. Today, more than 150 young Zambian musicians are receiving individual and ensemble lessons, Kalomo says.

In the coming years, the founders also hope to provide instruction to children in underserved communities and professional development for local music teachers.

Daniel Mwalwembe, who began studying at the academy early last year, says the training has made a world of difference in his performance ability.

“Before I started learning music at Ngoma Dolce, I was not good in leading and singing,” he says. “I am still doing it now, but performing much better, and people who listen to my performance say I have improved a lot.”

Since beginning his formal training, Mwalwembe has joined Euphoria Ensemble, a classical music group that performs around Lusaka.

In addition to being the country’s first classical music school, Ngoma Dolce Music Academy has become the national testing center for the ABRSM, a 125-year-old organization that assesses musical achievement. As many as 650,000 people in more than 90 countries take ABRSM examinations to prove musical competency each year, according to the ABRSM 2013 annual report.

The academy is bringing classical music to the forefront in Zambia, Kalomo says. In recent years, a number of classical musicians from around the world have come to Zambia to collaborate with local musicians and promote cultural integration.

As a result, attendance at the academy and local shows is increasing, Kalomo says.

Theo Bross, a cellist and composer from Germany’s Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, visits Zambia two to three times a year to conduct concerts and train local musicians, raising cultural integration and familiarity with classical music.

When he was approached to teach local students, he feared classical music would not be well received in Zambia, Bross says. However, he found that Zambians did have some interest in the music.

That interest, he says, has been fueled by new access to music education and concerts by musicians from all over the world.

“Isn’t it cultural integration if 20 Zambian string players play together with five European and three Asian musicians a Mozart symphony?” he asks. “Or they do together a recently composed Zambian opera?”

Bross is working with the academy founders to create a fund to support underprivileged children who are interested in music. The fund would cover both lessons and access to instruments.

The academy’s work is increasing attention to music and the arts here.

Agnes Eglina, a Latvian pianist, says that when she performed in Zambia in October 2013, there were few people in the audience.

But the crowds were larger when she performed last March during Francophonie Week, a yearly event organized by Alliance Française, an organization that promotes French language and culture. She attributes the change to new efforts to engage Zambians in classical music.

“I saw children today, after our concert, trying out the cello and piano,” she says. “Maybe these young guys and girls will take up this sort of music and make it more popular.”

The National Arts Council of Zambia, an umbrella body for the arts, applauds such efforts. It sees the growth of classical music in Zambia as widening the scope of musical tastes.

The addition of classical music to local offerings means that visiting foreigners have a choice, which enriches the arts in the country, says Adrian Chipindi, assistant director for the council’s department of Performing and Literary Arts.

Increasing classical music education and promoting related activities has boosted participation of people from different backgrounds, Chipindi says. This is helping to break down class barriers traditionally associated with the arts here.

“There has been this perception that classic music is for the affluent,” Chipindi says. “The fact that local young people are being involved shows that music does not discriminate or care about the affluent.”

The National Arts Council of Zambia has pledged to continue supporting music festivals, performing arts and the new academy.

Violet Munsaka, a journalism student and local TV presenter, is a fan of classical music. While she enjoys it, she says it is still new to her. She aims to learn more about it so she will enjoy it more.

While watching a Lusaka opera performance organized by Bross and composer Peter Langmead, Munsaka says she is pleased to see the increased number of musical performances being held around the country.

Bross agrees. He says more classical music performances in the country are already in the pipeline. Through Ngoma Dolce Music Academy, foreign performers will continue collaborating with local artists and engaging in tours abroad.

“I don't earn anything from doing this here [in Zambia],” he says. “I am just a volunteer! But I do it because I have a feeling that I can move something here.”