Biography

Professor Meki Nzewi lectures in African Music at the University of Pretoria. As a cultural scientist, he has undertaken an interactive study of the creative theory and performance practice underlying African traditional musical arts for over 36 years. He has written copiously on all musico-philosophical aspects of African music, and has published four books and 34 articles and philosophical essays on African music, dance and drama.

He has written, composed and produced 5 music-theatre works, 7 musicals, 3 operas and 3 poetic-dance theatre works. His other compositions include works for orchestra, choir, solo voice, drums and other ensembles. 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.

Latest Work

Meki Nzewi - and the dead sing... JUSTICE!

The human and superhuman protagonists in this song of Justice interact in vicious and solemn plots that traverse mystical and mundane planes, as well as across continents and cultural sensibilities. Justice adopts the indigenous African triadic literature (integration of narrative, poetry and drama) to tell a contemporary African story that also spotlights African mystical sciences. The story-line tracks the human tragedies and traumas inflicted by current social-political criminalities as well as the conflicts of fashionable morality afflicting global humanity.