Nobuntu, the female a cappella quintet from Zimbabwe will perform on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Bucknell’s Weis Center for Performing Arts.
Free pre-performance music featuring Bucknell University’s student ensemble Voices of Praise will be offered from 6:45-7:15 p.m. in the Atrium.
There will also be a free African Dance Workshop with two members of the ensemble from 1-2 p.m. the same day as their performance in the Atrium. This will be an interactive workshop. Participants will learn the rhythms through drumming, clapping and movement. The workshop leaders will teach various dances from the Ndebele Culture, such as Isitshikitsha, Indlamu and Amabhiza. Singing also accompanies the dances so participants will also be introduced to songs in which they will perform during the dance. Participants will also learn the origin and meaning of these rhythms.
Nobuntu has drawn international acclaim for its inventive performances that range from traditional Zimbabwean songs to Afro Jazz to Gospel.
The ensemble’s concerts are performed with pure voices, augmented by minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as the Mbira (thumb piano) and organic, authentic dance movements.
Nobuntu was nominated for Best Musician of the Year at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards in London in 2015 and in the last few seasons.
The word Nobuntu is an African concept that values humbleness, love, unity and family from a woman’s perspective. The ensemble represents a new generation of young African women singers who celebrate and preserve their culture, beauty and heritage through art.
The ensemble’s mission is the belief that music can be an important vehicle for change, one that transcends racial, tribal, religious, gender and economic boundaries.
The performance is sponsored, in part, by WITF.
Tickets for the Weis Center performance are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+, $15 for youth 18 and under, $15 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), $10 for Bucknell students (limit 2), and $15 for non-Bucknell college students (limit 2). Tickets can be purchased online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice or by calling 570-577-1000.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).