SPRINGFIELD – The Clark State Community College Performing Arts Center will welcome Nobuntu, an a cappella vocal ensemble of five young women from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to the Kuss Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 12.
“I’ve been trying to book Nobuntu for three years,” said Adele Adkins, executive director of the Clark State Performing Arts Center. “I saw them at a conference showcase, and they were beyond inspiring. It’s exciting to have something on the PAC season that is truly international.”
Nobuntu celebrates through their songs and dance the identities of being an African woman. The release of their debut album in 2013 titled THINA immediately took them beyond the borders to countries such as Austria, Germany, Belgium and Czech Republic, playing in concert halls, theaters and festivals. In 2016 Nobuntu released their second album, called EKHAYA, which brought them to North America for the first time.
“Here is this group of women all the way from Zimbabwe; they are only in the country three weeks of each year,” said Adkins. “How special it is to have women who live in that country, and that is the song and dance of their native land, truly bringing their culture here to Springfield.”
The ensemble was nominated for Best Musician of the Year at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards 2015, held in London. The video of NARINI, their lead single from the second album, EKHAYA, went on to be Number 1 on the Top 10 Zimbabwean Music Video on DSTV’s Zambezi Magic TV.
Nobuntu is a production identified by its concept and philosophy, a new generation of young women singers who celebrate and preserve their culture, beauty and heritage through art.
Nobuntu is an African concept that values humbleness, love, purpose, unity and family from a woman’s perspective. Their repertoire is a fusion of traditional Zimbabwean rooted music, Afro Jazz, Gospel and Crossover in pure voices with minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as Mbira and some dance movements.
“There are many wonderful groups that do traditional dancing and singing, but take a chance with Nobuntu and experience something you would never experience in Springfield,” said Adkins.
Nobuntu will take the stage at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, in the Kuss Auditorium of the Clark State Performing Arts Center in downtown Springfield. Tickets range from $30 to $40 and are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 937-328-3874.
