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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN export musician to British shores, Edith WeUtonga (real name Edith Katiji) and her Zimbabwe Musicians Union (ZiMU) have partnered with Muusikkojenliitto (Musicians’ Union of Finland) to stamp an international footprint.
WeUtonga, known for her hit song, Mukaranga told Chronicle Showbiz that her relocation to Britain has been a gift from the music gods as she has gained inroads into diverse markets.
“Ever since I moved here, I’ve found myself working with organisations providing music as therapy. This has seen me go into contingent accommodation spaces, schools, care facilities and hospitals running programmes. I’m a project lead and have had the joy of meeting and working with a diverse community,” she said.
Such engagement with various audiences afforded her the chance to be a founding member of ZiMU in 2014 to consolidate the need to correct problems that artistes face in the industry.
“After so many WhatsApp discussions and mourning about the anomalies in the music industry, a group of musicians decided to come together and unionise their problems towards long solutions and I was one of them. We regulate with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe affiliated with the International Federation of Musicians (IFM) in France where we meet and interact with other unions globally,” said WeUtonga.
The same Union has reaped great rewards by penning a partnership with the Musicians’ Union of Finland. Together with her team, WeUtonga travelled to Finland to meet up with their Finnish counterparts.
“The trip to Finland was the beginning of great things for the Zimbabwe Musicians Union and the music sector as a whole. We spent the week in conversation and consultation on how our twinning agreement was going to work, what we can do to grow our union and corporate governance matters.
“Our biggest takeaway was knowing in FMU, we had found a mentor that would be there to support our initiatives, advise and hold our hand through it all. The FMU is 105 years old and ZIMU is eight, so we have much to learn,” exclaimed WeUtonga.
Lately, the guitarist has kept her on-stage career alive as she has been performing and busy in the studio with some international acts.
She has been a visionary as her impressive CV has seen her being the first black woman to be appointed vice-president of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM).
Recently, WeUtonga has taken it upon herself to launch a Music in Development project to complement the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education efforts to teach pupils diverse musical instruments.
“I recently launched a Music in Development project called Pamodzi-Issiyo (which means in Nyanja and Japanese, together). This is a project I’m doing with my cohort from SOAS University of London Kayo Yoshida in a quest to support the Zimbabwe Visual and Performing Arts curriculum.
“We have been collecting pianist instruments from friends in Japan to distribute to music teachers in Zimbabwe, train them on how to use the instrument and teach it, and further donate more for their students. This is a way for me to give back and grow our musical journey and knowledge for our children in schools.
“The teachers are there, albeit few, but the instruments are at zero. So, I am gathering support from my colleagues in Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to see this project through,” added WeUtonga.
WeUtonga broke onto the music scene in the early 2000s and has released a number of albums including Kwacha It is day and Utonga. She has won accolades at the National Arts Merit Awards, Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards and Women Achievers Awards.
The lead singer of the band Utonga holds a Master of Arts degree in Music in Development from SOAS University of London and a Bachelor of Science in music business, musicology and technology from Midlands State University. – @eMKlass_49
Online Reporter