November 16, 2016 at 2:17 p.m.
South African singer wows local children with music of her homeland
South African singer wows local children with music of her homeland
By Kayla Thomason-
The students were engrossed in the beats as they listened to Klaasen and her ensemble, which consists of Mongezi Ntaka, lead guitar and musical director; Andre Whiteman, bass guitar and sound technician; and Noel Mpiaza, drums and percussion, as they shared their township music and some history of South Africa.
Klaasen also sang songs made famous by her mother, legendary South African jazz singer Thandie Klaasen, in the '60s.
"New music comes and goes, but culture never leaves you. It stays with you forever and this is why I make my mom very proud," Klaasen said. "She used to tell me that this music, you must respect your art. It's my livelihood. It's not something that I just do for the sake of tickling people's ears, but truly it's how I survive, how I've taken care of myself and my family and so I need it to sustain me and it's a gift from God and it's a wonderful gift," she said.
The songs they performed for the students included Qongqothwane (Click song), Jolinkomo (Bring the cow), Pata Pata (Touch, Touch), Khawuleza (Hurry), and Mbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight).
When Pata Pata was performed students were encouraged to come to the front of the auditorium and dance.
"It's been amazing, the kids came here truly prepared and looking forward, and not only forward to come and listen to the concert but they came forward to participate and they were ready to dance when they were asked," said Klaasen. "They sang with us, they danced with us, they asked questions, they participated, so I think it was a wonderful exchange with the young people. Also at Saint Mary's (Hospital, where Klaasen also performed), it was a very small, intimate room but it was wonderful to be able to share your music with people who perhaps can't attend concerts or they won't be able to attend the concert but preparations were made to include them as well, which I think is fabulous."
Some songs told of the country's hard history, but the delivery was light.
"This is why I say we used to sing these songs with very heavy hearts," she explained. "But we can't forget where we come from, we can't pretend those things never happened and it's a way of trying to tell young people 'You've got this privilege of education,'" she said. "We ride on the backs, we got our freedoms blazed by the young people. Some of them gave up theirs, so you can't travel all over the world and just sing as if nothing ever happened. But at the same time we want to show the people of South Africa are very resilient people and music played a very important part in the struggles and the liberation of the people of South Africa."
Ntaka also taught the children some simple greetings such as "sawubona" which is "hello" singular, "sanibonani" which is "hello" plural (to a group of people), "yebo" which is "yes," and "ngiyabonga" which is "thank you."
"I think they walk away having learned the basic words to say 'hello' to somebody, to say 'thank you' to somebody and that shows respect for somebody's culture," Klaasen said.
She speaks many languages so she can show she cares about who she is speaking to, that she respects where they are from, and she hopes others will do the same.
"That shows that you care about whoever you are speaking to and it's a great skill to inculcate in your children," she said. "Tolerance of different kinds and music is the best way of doing it because there's no political agendas involved, there's no race involved, there's no black or white, it's a feeling thing. Music makes you happy and that's what we hope to accomplish."
She enjoyed working with the students, teaching them about her culture and South Africa.
"I am 100 percent sure that from all the places we visited these kids will remember these kind of concerts for a very long time," Klaasen said. "They may not remember my name, but they may say '(I) remember when I was young, in my school there was this project that we had, we had a group that came in from South Africa and they performed for us.' It makes the kids widen out than their normal music that they perhaps listen to."
This was Klaasen's first visit to Wisconsin and she said her experience in Rhinelander was well worth the trip.
"It was worth every bit and very much more satisfying because when you're performing in big cities, I think we all tend to take it for granted because there's so much music around and people have so many choices to choose that they don't really tap into the appreciation," Klaasen said. "These kids, it was a treat."
Klaasen was pleased to visit senior homes during her week in the Northwoods. Her mother had a stroke a year ago, but she still holds on to music and they enjoy having it as a part of life.
"That's why I was so thrilled that they included the senior homes because they were once young too, and they are at a very vulnerable stage right now but it doesn't mean that music has left them," she said.
Mark Jacobson, seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher, was amazed by the performance.
"I thought the concert was outstanding," he said. "It was obvious they enjoy what they do and display a lot of energy during their performances. I really appreciated the fact that the group included the students as active participants."
He said that the students were very excited and motivated to see the concert.
"The students were super impressed by all the different languages the lead singer knew fluently," he said. "They also enjoyed the way she danced and the energy she brought."
Jacobson thought it was important that his students were able to get an up-close look at another culture.
"I think performances like this are very important in education," he said. "Kids need to understand that there are many different cultures in the world, in addition to the American culture, and it's also vital to experience these cultures in live performances to drive that point home. Those people's stories are no less important than our stories. There is a huge world that exists outside of Oneida County and the state of Wisconsin."
This opportunity was made possible by Nicolet Area Technical College and Arts Midwest World Fest, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis that gives small- and medium-sized communities a chance to experience people, music and culture. The community can experience the performance Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Nicolet Area Technical College. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at nicoletlive.com or by calling (715) 365-4646.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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