Kampala Music Project

Last year, I was invited to come to Kampala, Uganda in an effort to expand music and music education throughout the city by means of vocal workshops, engaging discourse with music educators in the city, and performances. I soon discovered that the music students in Kampala have been affected by the hidden curriculum embedded within music education. They would speak about Classical music in such high regard simultaneously lowering the relevance of their own traditional music. I was instantly horrified and I knew then that my purpose was to remind the musicians I encountered that their traditional music is just as valid as any other genre of music. I was met with some resistance, however, I knew this was a necessary step in the healing process. I was there for a month and I was able to meet and collaborate with many students, music educators, and locals who just enjoyed music and felt a need to express themselves. In addition to the workshops, a small team and I somehow to put on a concert performing music that was a little different for the majority of the audience members but the concert was well received. It was truly the most formative month of my life because I never dreamed that I would be able to work with such passionate people.
I am working on continuing this project because there are children and adults who travel for hours to come to learn how to sing or play an instrument. I am looking for ways to earn support to help this Festival flow more smoothly as we expand ideas. We are currently collecting data from over 15 different kingdoms in Uganda regarding their music education and addressing the obvious shift in music education from the villages to the larger city. The focus of this festival is black identity and how we can be proud of our identity and celebrate its beauty through music while bridging the chasm to other genres of music. Your support is important to us and we plan to use your donations to help us continue our passion. The money will be used for the festival such as travel to different villages as we continue our documentation, venue spaces for workshops and possible performance, purchasing music,  contingency funds (equipment malfunctions, car trouble). Any extra money that we have will be donated to The Kampala Music School, the music department at The Mengo Secondary School, and Makerere University's Music Dept. I had the pleasure of working with all of these institutions last year.  I am so grateful for all of your support and we are excited to continue this journey of music and identity.