Music and poetry auditions for artists with disabilities

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In celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Tshivenda Traditional Music Organisation ploughed back into the community by hosting a music and poetry audition specifically for the disabled.

The event that took place on 3 December at the Thavhani Mall’s parking area in Thohoyandou.

Event coordinator and veteran musician Mr Ishy Malala, who is also an executive member of the Tshivenda Traditional Music Organisation, said the organisation had been assisting artists over time to realise their potential by recording and distributing their music free of charge, but that they had not been able to assist disabled artists.

“We formed the organisation to promote and revive Tshivenda traditional music after noticing that the pure Tshivenda music genre was going extinct. We could not sit down and relax when our heritage was fading away. We are all out on the path of reviving this genre and we want to take it back where it belongs. Tshivenda music should be distinct, and a listener should be able to tell it is Tshivenda by hearing the instruments, just like in Zulu and Xitsonga music,” he said.

Malala said their plan was to identify male and female artists, but they were very disappointed when men did not pitch up for the event. He said that they were happy that they could manage to identify a woman, Ms Tshifularo Mutobvu, who had won herself a chance to record her music.

“As an organisation, we have taken it upon ourselves to empower artists, and we are going to record her and assist her in promoting her music. This is our humble contribution to the arts, and we will continue searching for talented artists and nurturing their talents,” Malala said.

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019. He currently writes on a freelance basis, covering human rights issues, court news and entertainment.