It was on  Saturday, February 11. Oh, what a fabulous day it was! A total of 87 applicants were ready to audition for UMOJA as Zimbabwe’s new and untapped talent. They assembled at the Zimbabwe College of Music to enjoy a moment of glory during the first round of UMOJA auditions.

The 87 registered applicants came from all over Zimbabwe and were, without exception all talented, but the nature of UMOJA is such that only a limited number can be accommodated each year.

They showed off their skills in dancing, singing and instrument playing. The competition was so strong to the extent that one contestant, who looked all “spliffed” up, decided to pull out before auditioning after observing what others were capable of doing.

When asked why he had chickened out, this is what he had to say: “I dislike it (competition) in real life.

I do not see why competition should be introduced into one’s amusements. If it amuses me to do a thing, I don’t see how it matters much whether I do it better than another person or not!  In fact, competition is for horses and not artistes, period!”

I wondered why he had bothered to register in the first place.

The four judges, who  are all previous UMOJA participants with lots of experience, consisted of two males and two females — Hope Masike, Tsitsi Tizora, Elisha Herema and Farai Kuzvidza.

Raymond Tatenda, an accomplished musician who studied at the Zimbabwe College of Music, provided the keyboards backing to the contestants who required instrumental backing.

The judges had a hard time deciding which 20 contestants would go through to the next round and were forced to increase the number to 25. 

The 25 contestants who were chosen to go to the next round gave unforgettable performances. These were Mutsawashe Gudhlanga, Tadzi Madzima, Tendai Madzviti, John Pfumojena, Geoffrey Ndeka, Tafadzwa Marova, Tinotenda Manyowa, Vimbai Mahara, Abel Maunga, Fletcher Mwale, Mangoma Moyo, Blessed Rukweza, Tinashe Muza, Thabiso Dube, Nomvuyo Dube, Nomvula Dube, Qeqeshwe Mntambo, Maylene Chenjerai, Tinashe Chiku, Nyasha Tizora, Victor Peturo, Hatitye Mtukwa, Ali Bauti, Lynos Matope, Gabriel Akupa and McIntosh Jerahuni.

However, it’s not over yet until it’s over. On Sunday, February 26, the 25 contestants will go through another round of auditions which will be overseen by UMOJA’s  international artistic co-ordinators, Koen Schyvens from the Netherlands and Rufus Maculuve from Mozambique. The final selection of 15 participants will be made the next day.

A lot of people have been asking, What is UMOJA? Here is a brief explanation, which I hope will give light to  those who want to know more:

UMOJA is the Swahili word for unity or “the spirit of togetherness”. It is also the name of the Cultural Flying Carpet programme sweeping over the southern and eastern parts of Africa.

The spirit of togetherness flows from the drums, the UMOJA symbol, beating at every rehearsal, workshop, dance, concert, musical score . . . virtually all UMOJA productions and activities. The heartbeat of the drum is central to UMOJA activities. It’s the sound that reverberates in the bodies and souls of participants and audience alike; and manifests itself into musical creations inspired by the students.

UMOJA  Cultural Flying Carpet (CFC) as the programme is referred to, is the brainchild of Wilhelm Dahl and the Norwegian National Organisation of Cultural Schools, Norsk Kulturskolerad.

Some 15 years ago, as director of the Cultural Schools Organisation, Wilhelm felt there was something missing in the schools arts programmes.

He devised a project integrating positive art and cultural energy, into the everyday school environment.

What began as a small pilot project developed into a national programme; the same as exists today in many of the Norwegian primary and secondary schools.

The Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe should be alerted and take action to this idea of incorporating the arts and culture in every school in the country as experiences gained through the study of arts and culture have proved to be of educational value to humanity.

This way, the students will be aware of their own culture as well as the cultures of other nationalities while at the same time increasing their awareness and perception  of the world around them.

What is needed is a clear message to education authorities that music education programmes in the schools help our kids and communities in real and substantial ways.

When presented with the many and manifest benefits of music education, officials at all levels should universally support a full, balanced, sequential course of music instruction taught by qualified teachers and every student will have an education in the arts.

Each of us wants our children and the children of all those around us to achieve success in school, success in employment, and success in the social structures through which we move. But we also want our children to experience “success” on a broader scale.

Participation in music, based on grounding in music education during the formative school years, brings countless benefits to each individual throughout life. The benefits may be psychological or spiritual, and they may be physical as well.

Decision-makers must now make the right choices as there is convincing research evidence that music at school has specific benefits such as: success in school and in society, success in developing intelligence and success in life. Several successful artistes have come out of UMOJA.

One successful artiste whose musical roots are in UMOJA, is Zimbabwe’s rising mbira princess, Hope Masike. She auditioned as a mbira player and a visual artiste in 2007. Since then, she has not looked back. She has been to all the camps in South Africa, Mozambique and Norway.

In 2011 while in the middle of her degree studies at the College of Music she was asked to come and teach mbira and dance for a year to students at  the Culture School of Fredrickstad in Norway.

While there she expanded her horizons and also got involved in doing performances in Oslo, the Netherlands and Denmark.

She even did a tour of the United States during her semester break. She made enough money and managed to buy her own musical equipment, much to the envy of many a musician in Zimbabwe.

But, that is a digression. Back to UMOJA.In 2002, thinking that the level of learning would be increased with collaborations, and networking with the Africans, Mr Dahl initiated a workshop in Durban with arts professionals from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Proposals were tossed around, and the Network idea, with students and teachers involved in the process, creating good productions, evolved. Furthermore, sitting around an oriental carpet, each participant scrawled their idea of a name, and UMOJA Cultural Flying Carpet was born.

The carpet now flies to seven different participating countries in Africa: Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.The participating  countries work in the areas of music, dance, visual arts, acrobatics and circus.

The national organisation for music and art schools in Norway — Norsk Kulturskolerad — is responsible for managing the total UMOJA programme.

The European partners are Norway and The Netherlands who team up with African partners with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway each year.

Kunstfactor, the national organisation for the development and promotion of the voluntary arts in Holland, became an associated partner in 2008.

These countries select students to participate in ongoing cultural collaborations ranging from workshops to national, regional and international camps.

Teachers and managers also collaborate in yearly international planning meetings, national meetings and teacher exchanges which take place throughout the year.

Partner institutions are fundamental in UMOJA CFC. Within these institutions UMOJA students are born and develop as artistes.

According to Rumbidzai Chipendo, who is in charge of Zimbabwe Association of Music Educators (ZAME) and national UMOJA team co-ordinator in Zimbabwe, a 15-member ensemble group of Umoja Cultural Flying Carpet will represent Zimbabwe in Maputo, Mozambique, in October this year where countries such as the hosts, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Norway will take part in a musical cultural exchange festival.