Keiskamma is coming to town

The Keiskamma Music Academy will perform in Grahamstown on 16 July.

One of the Eastern Cape’s most successful community outreach and music projects, the academy is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a tour of Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Bloemfontein and East London. The academy, based in Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, will be performing in the four towns between Tuesday 12 July and Sunday 17 July.

“The Keiskamma Music Academy is a programme of the Keiskamma Trust, an NPO that promotes health and hope through art, music, HIV/AIDS treatment, poverty alleviation projects and education initiatives,” says the academy’s programme manager Anthony Drake. There are currently 125 young people enrolled at the academy, performing a wide variety of music including indigenous isiXhosa songs, popular, jazz and classical music.

The academy provides high quality music education to rural children from the area of Hamburg and surrounding villages.

The ages of the academy’s students range from 8 to 21. The academy has seen consistently high marks in music theory and practical music for which Awards of Merit for outstanding teaching have been awarded by Unisa over several years.

“For us, this tour is all about celebration – of 10 years of music, and also of the difference we have been able to make in the lives of our students, some of whom can rightfully claim to be among some of the top young musicians in the country,” said Drake.

The Keiskamma Music Academy will arrive in Grahamstown on July 16 with a performance at the Guy Butler Theatre at 6pm.

Tickets are on sale for R80 (adults) and R50 for concessions. Tickets for children under 12 are free. Follow @KeiskammaMusic on Twitter or go to their Facebook page: Keiskamma Music Academy.