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A trio of Zimbabwean artists, currently participating in an artist residency program at the Canvas Community Art Studio & Gallery, will be bringing their Alaska visit to a close this weekend with a late afternoon concert at the Canvas. The performance, which will feature the music and dancing of Zimbabwe, runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. this Sunday, July 17.
Since their arrival in town, the trio — Zivanai Masango, Helen Masvikeni and Tendai Muparutsa — has led classes in marimba, dance, drumming and mbiria. They also performed at last week’s street party on Seward Street, which, like the poetry street party earlier this summer, was a great success, said Canvas program developer MK MacNaughton, drawing a crowd of about 800 people.
MacNaughton said having the visiting musicians at the downtown studio has been a wonderful experience.
“They are so lovely, these artists,” she said. “I feel so fortunate to have them.”
All three artists combine an enthusiasm for performance with teaching, often traveling to participate in workshops and classes around the country.
Masango started out as a brass, marimba, keyboard and percussion player, before making the guitar his instrument of choice. He has since toured the world, sharing the stage with music legends such as Buddy Guy, The String Cheese Incident, Thomas Mapfumo, Giovanni Hidalgo, Playing For Change Band, Hugh Masekela and many others. He has also worked as a faculty member at Colorado College and has led classes and clinics around the country.
Masvikeni’s artistic energies reach in many directions, including dance and movement, music, design, photography, literature and drama. She, like Masango, has taught at Colorado College, and has led several workshops in the US.
Muparutsa, who earned a master’s degree in music education from the University of Idaho, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta, Canada. His instruments include mbira dzavadzimu and nyunga nyunga, marimba, ngoma, hosho and guitar. He is also a singer and a dancer, and has taught in both Zimbabwe and the United States.
The connection with the trio came through several Canvas staff members, who were teaching and getting marimba training at a facility in Boulder, Colo. After meeting the group, they invited them up, eventually receiving help to make that happen through local businesses such as Pie in the Sky and First Impressions hair salon.
MacNaughton said the Canvas hosted a different marimba group last year.
“Every year we’re going to do this so we can further our teaching skills,” she said.
The visiting artists are still teaching this week; they’ll be leading a women’s dance and a drumming class from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, July 18 and 20. Today they will also kick off the first class of the six-week series of marimba classes offered at the Canvas. The kids class begins at 6 p.m. tonight and the adult class begins at 7 p.m. Both run through Aug. 12, and will culminate in a performance at Marine Park.
Sunday’s concert is Juneau’s last chance to see the visiting musicians perform.
Admission is $10, all of which goes to the visiting musicians.
For more information, visit www.canvasarts.org.
