Music as an instrument of peace

Q:How did you first come to understand the apartheid you were seeing and experiencing in South Africa, and your position in opposition to it?

It was easy to see how wrong it was. I remember looking out the window of my elementary school and seeing long lines of Black South Africans standing out in the hot sun, waiting for a bus and wondering why there wasn’t any shelter at their bus stop, and why there were separate entrances to buildings and restrictions to where people could sit. Then, when I went on a road trip with my parents and saw how poor Black people were and what horrible conditions they were forced to live in, I knew my country was a cruel mess.

A:Q:

Why did you choose music as your approach for addressing apartheid and other social issues, like HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, or violence? A:

Music is a universal and non-threatening language that brings people together in spite of our many differences. I have been a musician since the age of 11, and as a young person, I knew that music had the power to break down the barriers between us all. Under apartheid, I snuck out to visit my Black friends in their homes and we sang together and developed very strong friendships. So, later in my life, I knew that we would be able to accomplish our goals of uniting communities to prepare for living in a new South Africa if we used music to build trust. As a trained music therapist, I also know the power of music as a healing force. The performance of music and dance is a joining experience and one of spiritual depth that enables participants to express their innermost feelings.

Q:

Can you talk about how your education in music therapy has informed both your humanitarian work and your music?

A:

Growing up with the knowledge of the persecution of Jews and seeing the oppression of Black people in my country, I developed a strong social conscience. I was also a self-taught musician, and once I heard about the profession of music therapy, I realized that this was a field that was going to suit me. By the time I went to Temple University to study for a master’s degree in music therapy, I had already been working in impoverished rural areas and witnessed firsthand the power of music to improve selfconfidence, help people deal with very difficult life circumstances and have some joy . ... The internship I did in the Philadelphia prisons prepared me for working with the most challenging groups I would work with in the future.

Q:

Your latest album, “For You,” is being celebrated with a concert tonight and was recorded in the U.S., South Africa, and Mexico. How did you approach the creation of this album and what did you want to say through your music this time

Sharon Katz taught herself to play the guitar when she was 11 and went on to use music as a tool for good — first in her native South Africa, and later around the world.

“I was attracted to the ‘protest music’ of the ’60s, as well as the African music I heard on the radio. I formed bands with my friends in my hometown, and I was always the band leader, arranging the songs and the harmony parts for others to sing. So, music was a huge part of my life all through my childhood,” she says, recalling her rejection of the apartheid she witnessed, regardless of the privileges it could give her as a young White person at the time.

With music, she went on to enter and win competitions, studied classical guitar, learned to read music, got her teaching license and earned a degree in music therapy before joining forces with the late Zulu jazz singer Nonhlanhla Wanda. Together, they formed The Peace Train, a 500-member group of adult musicians and youth singers of various ethnicities who toured South Africa to demonstrate a practice of peace and unity. They became musical ambassadors, touring all over the world; collaborating with international musicians, orchestras, choirs and dance groups, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Pete Seeger. They were featured in a 2015 documentary (“When Voices Meet”) and have released multiple albums. Sharon Katz & The Peace Train’s latest album, “For You,” is being celebrated with a concert at 7:30 tonight at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad. (Tickets are $18 for the general public, and more information can be found at ticketweb.com and entering “Sharon Katz” in the search field.)

Katz, 68, is the co-founder and artistic director of Sharon Katz & The Peace Train, lives in Pacific Beach and has an adopted son and daughter-in-law, who were both youth members of The Peace Train in South Africa. She took some time to talk about her music, her social justice work and her favorite ways to unwind on a San Diego weekend. around?

A:

I wrote the songs on this album over the past year. The themes are all issues that are of deep concern to me: loss, exclusion, joy and longing. The song, “What Can We Do,” is about the state of the world, homelessness and violence, and I began the recording when I was living in Tijuana and continued the recording in South Africa with a Zulu male choir. “Sister of the Soil” is a dedication to Nonhlanhla who tragically died earlier this year

and features a Zulu women’s choir. I also included “Hamba Joba,” a song in Zulu that Nonhlanhla and I used to sing together; it’s got a joyful, South African rhythm and a message about home. The lyrics of “La Tristeza (The Sadness)” are by a young woman I worked with in a safehouse for youth who had been rescued from trafficking. I composed the music and I sing in Spanish on this song. “Baja California” has a lilting melody and is a love song to the beauty of Mexico and meaningful relationships. “Think It Over” is a protest song I wrote about people who are excluded from the mainstream because of their trans identity, but it’s also about any kind of discrimination.

Q:

You’ve previously focused your work in Tijuana, partnering with Promotora de las Bellas Artes to develop music programming with schools and community groups, culminating in workshops and concerts. Can you talk about the work you’re currently doing in the U.S./Mexico border region?

A:

Coming from South Africa and the horrific history of apartheid, it was terrible to hear a president of the United States spreading terrible mistruths and stereotypes about Mexicans, Muslims, and other “others.” So, we organized a tour that we called “Putting the ‘United’ Back in the USA” and brought together 100 youth from across the country for a series of workshops and composed songs to address the issues. Then, we traveled and performed together, just like the original “Peace Train” in South Africa. Our final concert was a huge show of unity at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. From there, I received support from the Peacemakers Fund at the San Diego Foundation to partner with Promotora de las Bellas Artes in Tijuana. We organized a parade from San Diego across the border to Tijuana, where we had “Transcending Barriers” workshops between youth and families from both sides of the border, as well as a joint concert to show solidarity. When children started being separated from their parents at the border, I began doing music therapy in the shelters in Mexico and in a safehouse for youth rescued from trafficking. I also worked with survivors of torture. This past year, I’ve focused on empowerment work with youth living in challenging conditions in San Diego, including youth of unhoused families, in association with the San Diego Public Libraries. I also did another music performance with Promotora’s youth choirs in Tijuana. In association with Hands of Peace, I also worked with a group of youth from San Diego, Israel, Palestine and Palestinian Citizens of Israel. I can only hope that some of what they learned is sustaining them during this tragic period.

Q:

What is the best advice you’ve ever received? A:

The best advice I have received is to love yourself. Without self-love and self-care, nothing can be accomplished.

Q:

What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A:

That I performed with Miriam Makeba at her homecoming party when she was finally able to return to South Africa after being exiled.

Q:

Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A:

A concert at the Rady Shell, a bike ride around Mission Bay, yoga outside in the fresh air, and a bonfire on the beach with friends.