Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Professor Meki Nzewi will present a workshop culminating in the performance of a collective musical composition, in collaboration with student members of Dr. Sarah Politz’s course MUH 6935: African Popular Music and Globalization. The workshop is open to members of the UF and Gainesville community.

Dr. Nzewi is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Originally from Nigeria, Professor Nzewi is a musicologist, composer, and theorist of African music. His books include such works as African Music: Theoretical Content and Creative Continuum, and his interactive studies of the creative theory and performance practice underlying African traditional musical arts have circulated widely through his publications and teaching over the past four decades.

Professor Nzewi’s creative works are extensive and diverse, from works of musical theatre, opera, and dance-theatre, to compositions for orchestra, choir, voice, and drums. In 2001, the English Chamber Orchestra gave the world premiere of his newest orchestral work during a tour of South Africa. Prof. Nzewi has also published literary works, including three plays, a novel and poems, and has written and produced works for TV and radio.

As master drummer, he has performed and given workshops throughout Europe and Africa. He is the founder and co-director of the Ama Dialog Foundation for African traditional arts in Nigeria. His creative philosophy and practice aim at continuing the traditional multi-disciplinary approach to creativity, performance and presentation.