Soweto String Quartet
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Soweto String Quartet
The Soweto String Quartet is a string quartet from Soweto in South Africa composed of Reuben Khemese, Makhosini Mnguni, Sandile Khemese and Thami Khemese. Their music is a fusion of the "dance rhythms of Kwela, the syncopated guitars of Mbaqanga, the saxophones and trumpets of swaying African jazz and the voices of people singing in joyous, easy harmony". The Soweto String Quartet is autonomous and independent and has not affiliated with any organisation or institution since its inception. The quartet became a full-time professional outfit in 1992. They performed at President Mandela's inauguration, after which Mandela started recommending them for other jobs. The album ''Zebra Crossing'' peaked at number 16 and ''Renaissance'' peaked at number 29 on the Australian ARIA Charts. Discography * ''Zebra Crossing'' (1994) * ''Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided ...
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String Quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. The string quartet was developed into its present form by composers such as Franz Xaver Richter, and Joseph Haydn, whose works in the 1750s established the ensemble as a group of four more-or-less equal partners. Since Haydn the string quartet has been considered a prestigious form; writing for four instruments with broadly similar characteristics both constrains and tests a composer. String quartet composition flourished in the Classical era, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert each wrote a number of them. Many Romantic and early-twentieth-century composers composed string quartets, including Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Jan ...
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Soweto
Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and one of the suburbs of Johannesburg. History George Harrison and George Walker are today credited as the men who discovered an outcrop of the Main Reef of gold on the farm Langlaagte in February 1886. The fledgling town of Johannesburg was laid out on a triangular wedge of "uitvalgrond" (area excluded when the farms were surveyed) named Randjeslaagte, situated between the farms Doornfontein to the east, Braamfontein to the west and Turffontein to the south. Within a decade of the discovery of gold in Johannesburg, 100,000 people flocked to this part of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek in search of riches. They were of many races and na ...
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ...
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Reuben Khemese
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese; Rubén in Spanish; Rubèn in Catalan; Ruben in Dutch, German, French, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Armenian; and Rupen/Roupen in Western Armenian. The form Ruben can also be a form of the name Robin, itself a variation of the Germanic name Robert in several Celtic languages. It preserves the "u" sound from the name's first component "hruod" (compare Ruairí, the Irish form of Roderick). Mononym * Ruben I, Prince of Armenia (1025/1035 – 1095), the first lord of Armenian Cilicia or "Lord of the Mountains" from 1080/1081/1082 to 1095, founder of Rubenid dynasty * Ruben II, Prince of Armenia (c. 1165 – 1170), the seventh lord of Armenian Cilicia or "Lord of the Mountains" from 1169 to 1170 * Ruben III, Prince of Arme ...
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Sandile Khemese
Sandile may refer to * Sandile (name) * Sandile (Pokémon), a fifth-generation Pokémon species *Sandile Dam Sandile Dam is a zoned embankment dam located on the Keiskamma River Ezingcuka near Keiskammahoek, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1983 and serves mainly for irrigation purposes. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked hi ... in South Africa * Sandile Decoration in Ciskei, South Africa * Sandile Medal in Ciskei, South Africa {{disambiguation, geo ...
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Thami Khemese
The Thangmi (in Nepali थामी) are an indigenous tribe of the hills east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. They mainly live in Suspa, Kshamawati, Khopachagu, Alampu, Bigu, Kalinchok, Lapilang and Lakuri Danda villages of Dolakha district in East-Central Nepal. They are locally known as Thangmi. The social structure of the Thami comprise a bilineal clan system. Apart from the male clans, there are distinct female lineages that are passed down from mother to daughter. They speak the Thami language, which is related to Nepal Bhasha. They do not have a written script; however, inscriptions on monuments built over graves lay claim to one. According to the 2011 Nepal Census, there are a total of 29,000 Thami of which some belong to the Kirant religion and some belong to Buddhism. Legend says that the first Thami couple had seven sons and seven daughters. When the parents could not find suitable marriage partners for their children, they allowed them to intermarry. The Thami ...
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Kwela
Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to the albums ''A Swingin' Safari'' by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and ''Graceland'' by Paul Simon (1986)), giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. The Piranha's 1980 UK Top Ten hit 'Tom Hark' was based on an earlier 1950's Kwela hit song. One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flutes of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the ...
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Mbaqanga
Mbaqanga () is a style of South African music with rural Zulu music, Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s. History Historically, laws such as the Natives' Land Act, Land Act of 1913 to the Group Areas Act (1950) initially prevented black South Africans from integrating from different tribal communities, consequently making it almost impossible for most black native music artists to gain recognition beyond their tribal boundaries. The music genre mbaqanga developed during this time (1960s) and to this day most of the major record labels are white-owned companies with very few black artists that have contributed to their own material. In Zulu, the term ''mbaqanga'' means an everyday cornmeal porridge. ''Mbaqanga'' aficionados were mostly plebeian, metropolitan African jazz enthusiasts. Many of them were not permitted to establish themselves in the city, but they were unable to sustain themselves in the rural cou ...
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South African Jazz
South African jazz is the jazz of South Africa. History The jazz scene in South Africa grew much as it did in the United States. Through performances in nightclubs, dances, and other venues, musicians had the opportunity to play music often. Musicians such as singer Sathima Bea Benjamin learned by going to nightclubs and jam sessions and waiting for opportunities to offer their talents. One unique aspect of the South African jazz scene was the appearance of individuals imitating popular artists as closely as possible because the real musician wasn't there to perform in the area. For instance, one could find a "Cape Town Dizzy Gillespie" who would imitate not only the music, but the look and style of Dizzy. This practice created a strong environment to nurture some artists who would eventually leave South Africa and become legitimate contributors to the international jazz scene. One of the first major bebop groups in South Africa in the 1950s was the Jazz Epistles. This group cons ...
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Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a Universal suffrage, fully representative democratic election. Presidency of Nelson Mandela, His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial Conflict resolution, reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialism, socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. A Xhosa people, Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu people, Thembu royal family in Mvezo, Union of South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African ...
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ARIA Charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the official Australian music chart in June 1988, succeeding the Kent Music Report, which had been Australia's national music sales charts since 1974. History The ''Go-Set'' charts were Australia's first national singles and albums charts, published from 5 October 1966 until 24 August 1974. Succeeding ''Go-Set'', the Kent Music Report began issuing the national top 100 charts in Australia from May 1974. The compiler, David Kent, also published Australia's national charts from 1940 to 1974 in a retrospective fashion using state-based data. In mid-1983, the Australian Recording Industry Association commenced licensing the Kent Music Report chart. The first printed national top 50 chart available in record stores, branded the ''Countdown'' chart, was ...
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