Justinian Tamusuza (born 1951) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. His music combines elements of traditional Ugandan music and Western music. He is best known for his first string quartet, which was included by the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

on their 1992 CD ''

Pieces of Africa ''Pieces of Africa'' is a 1992 studio album by the Kronos Quartet, containing works commissioned by the quartet, written by seven African composers. Track listing Critical reception According to AllMusic the Quartet avoids cultural imperialism ...

'', which contains music by seven African composers. His music has also been performed by the

Imani Winds Imani Winds is an American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both established and newly composed wo ...

. Tamusuza was born in

Kibisi KiBiSi is a design firm in Copenhagen, Denmark, founded in 2009 by Lars Holme Larsen, Bjarke Ingels and Jens Martin Skibsted. It brings together the expertise of their three design companies: Kilo Design (Ki), BIG architects (Bi) and Skibsted Ide ...

. His early training was in

Baganda The Ganda people, or Baganda (endonym: ''Baganda''; singular ''Muganda''), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans (although since a 1993 survey, only 46 are official ...

traditional music. His early instructors included the Reverend Anthony Okelo and

Kevin Volans Kevin Volans (born 26 July 1949) is a South African born Irish composer and pianist. He studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne in the 1970s and later became associated with the ''Neue Einfacheit'' (New Simplicity) mov ...

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He received his doctorate in composition at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where he studied with Alan Stout. He has taught at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda, as well as at Northwestern University. His music is published by International Opus.

References

External links

Justinian Tamusuza official siteJustinian Tamusuza page
from International Opus site Ugandan composers 1951 births Living people 20th-century classical composers Northwestern University alumni Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Musicians from Kampala Northwestern University faculty Academic staff of Makerere University Male classical composers 20th-century male musicians {{Uganda-bio-stub