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Sibongile Khumalo
Sibongile Khumalo (24 September 1957 – 28 January 2021) was a South African singer and songwriter. She sang Classical music, classical, jazz, opera and traditional Music of South Africa, South African music. She was noted for singing at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994, as well as 1995 Rugby World Cup final, the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup the following year. She was appointed to the Order of Ikhamanga in 2008. Early life Khumalo was born in Orlando West, Soweto, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 24 September 1957. Her mother worked as a nurse; her father, Khabi Mngoma, was a Professor of music. He inspired her to pursue music and Khumalo started learning when she was eight years old. She studied music at the University of Zululand, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts from that institution. She proceeded to earn a second Bachelor of Arts (with honours) from the University of the Witwatersrand, along with a postgraduate diploma in personnel management f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Soweto
Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), 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 is 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 we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Federated Union Of Black Arts
Federated may refer to: * Federated state, a constituent state within a federal state * Federated school, a model of administration in some educational institutions * Federated congregation, a type of religious congregation Computing * Federated identity, a type of electronic identity * Federated learning, a machine learning technique * Federated protocol, in networking, the ability for users to send messages from one network to another * Federated architecture, a pattern in enterprise architecture * Federated search, a type of electronic search * Federated database system, a type of meta-database management system * Federated content, a type of digital media content Other * Federated Tower, a skyscraper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Federated Department Stores, now known as the Macy's, Inc. * Federated Group, a 1980s era chain of home electronics retailers * Federated Investors, a financial services company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania See also * Federal (other) * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalised its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. ''Carmen'' has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the " Habanera" and "Seguidilla" from act 1 and the " Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias. The opera is written in the genre of ''opéra comique'' with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. Jos� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
David Willcocks
Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols were published in the series of books '' Carols for Choirs'' which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London. During the Second World War (1939–1945) he served as an officer in the British Army, and was decorated with the Military Cross for his actions on Hill 112 during the Battle of Normandy in July 1944. His elder son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer. Biography Born in Newquay in Cornwall, Willcocks began his musical training as a chorister at Westminster Abbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir is a large independent musical organisation founded in London, England in 1876 to give the first performance of J. S. Bach's '' Mass in B minor'' in Britain. The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill ( Yale Schola Cantorum/ Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) it regularly performs and records across London and the UK, including at the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Abbey Road Studios. The choir's patron is King Charles III. Its conductor laureate was David Willcocks, who was the choir's musical director from 1960 to 1998. Other musical directors have included Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Reginald Jacques. In 2013, John Rutter was appointed president of the choir, following the death of Leopold David de Rothschild in 2012. Its vice presidents are Janet Baker, Felicity Lott, Roderick Williams and Sam Gordon Clark. The Bach Choir has performed for many film scores, including '' Kingdom of Heaven'', '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Requiem (Verdi)
The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired, and therefore also referred to as the ''Manzoni Requiem''. The first performance, at the San Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874, conducted by the composer, marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. It was followed three days later by the same performers at La Scala. Verdi conducted his work at major venues in Europe. Verdi composed the last part of the text, ''Libera me'', first, as his contribution to the '' Messa per Rossini'' that he had begun after Gioachino Rossini had died, already contained the music that later begins the ''Dies irae'' sequence. Considered too operatic to be performed in a liturgical setting, the Requiem is usually given in concert form; it takes around 90 minutes to perform. Musicologist David Rosen calls it "probably the most fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Georges Bizet, Bizet's ''Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Gioachino Rossini, Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville, Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
God Defend New Zealand
"God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a poem, it was set to music as part of a competition in 1876. Over the years its popularity increased, and it was eventually named the second national anthem in 1977. It has English and Māori lyrics, with slightly different meanings. Since the late 1990s, the usual practice when performed in public is to perform the first verse of the national anthem twice, first in Māori and then in English. History and performance "God Defend New Zealand" was written as a New Zealand poetry, poem in the 1870s by Irish-born, Colony of Victoria, Victorian-raised immigrant Thomas Bracken of Dunedin. A competition to compose music for the poem was held in 1876 by ''The Saturday Advertiser'' and judged by three prominent Melbourne musicians, with a prize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
National Anthem Of South Africa
The national anthem of South Africa was adopted in 1997 and is a hybrid song combining extracts of the 19th century Xhosa hymn "" (, ) and the Afrikaans song that was used as the South African national anthem during the apartheid era, " Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (), with new English lyrics. The anthem is often referred to by its incipit of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", but this has never been its official title, which is simply "National Anthem of South Africa". The committee responsible for this new composition included Anna Bender, Elize Botha, Richard Cock, Dolf Havemann (Secretary), Mzilikazi Khumalo (chairman), Masizi Kunene, John Lenake, Fatima Meer, Khabi Mngoma, Wally Serote, Johan de Villiers, and Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph. Structure The lyrics employ the five most widely spoken of South Africa's twelve official languages – Xhosa (first stanza, first two lines), Zulu (first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza), and English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
President Of South Africa
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Between 1961 and 1994, the office of head of state was the state presidency. The president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, and is usually the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress since the first multiracial election was held on 27 April 1994. The Constitution limits the president's time in office to two five-year terms. The first president to be elected under the new constitution was Nelson Mandela. The incumbent is Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected by the National Assembly on 15 February 2018 following the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Under the interim constitution (valid from 1994–96), there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of Parliament ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Makhanda, Eastern Cape
Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Municipality, and the seat of the municipal council. It also hosts Rhodes University, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, the South African Library for the Blind (SALB), a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and 6 South African Infantry Battalion. Furthermore, located approximately 3 km south-east of the town lies Waterloo Farm, the only estuarine fossil site in the world from 360 million years ago with exceptional soft-tissue preservation. The town's name-change from Grahamstown to Makhanda was officially gazetted on 29 June 2018. The town was officially renamed to Makhanda in memory of Xhosa warrior and prophet Makhanda ka Nxele. In 2025, the city was listed as thcountry's worst-performing municipalit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
National Arts Festival
The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Makhanda, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers. The festival runs for 11 days, from the last week of June to the first week of July every year. It takes place in the small university city of Makhanda (previously known as Grahamstown), in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The NAF comprises a Main programme and a Fringe festival, both administered by the National Arts Festival Office, a non-profit Section 21 Company. The Festival programme includes performing arts (theatre, dance, stand-up comedy and live music), visual art exhibitions, films, talks and workshops, a large food and craft fair and historical tours of the city. The NAF runs a children's arts festival over the same period and a number of other festivals take place in Makhanda over the period of the NAF, such as the Nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
