Growing up in Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg) in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, Judith knew that she wanted to be a singer from an early age.
After matriculating at Khagiso High School, she attended Johannesburg’s legendary FUBA Academy music school in 1993, where she received her Grade 5 Music Diploma. One of her fellow students was an ambitious young guitarist who she knew from Polokwane, one Selaelo Selota, a man who would play a major role in her career.
Other achievements included reaching the finals of the Shell Road to Fame contest in 1994, and the finals in SABC’s Jam Alley Search For Talent that year.
In 1994 she made a significant move to Cape Town to study music at the University of Cape Town, graduating in 1997 with a Performer’s Diploma in Jazz. Judith then gained her Honours Degree in Jazz Performance, majoring in Jazz Singing, under the supervision of Prof. Mike Campbell, in 1999. While studying Jazz singing, she was also classically trained by Virginia Davids for five years.
As I am typing this, Typhoon signal No.1 is in force here in Hong Kong, so I’m giving you a double-play of Judith Sephuma. Mme Motswadi is such a soothing tune and really appeals to me because it’s sung in Judith’s (I think) native Sesotho language.
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
With Heritage Day/National Braai Day coming up next month (24 September 2010) some of us on this side of the noodle-curtain may long for a boerie (boerewors) or a lekker tjoppie (chop) on the day thousands of our countrymen back home head to their backyards for a good old South African braai.
If you’re not privvy to your own sausage-maker… fear not, you can still get your boerie-fix. Even if it’s just the taste of it, set on a bun and cooked on your Hong Kong balcony.
I found this video of (Englishman nogal) Heston Blumenthal cooking a Boerewors Burger (or “brrr-wos” as the famous chef calls it).
It’s quick and easy and better yet, the spices required are to be found anywhere in Hong Kong. All you need are coriander seeds (toasted), nutmeg, ground gloves, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and of course, a mixture of pork and beef. As a shameless promotional aside, Heston uses Waitrose products which can be found in Hong Kong as well.
My own twist includes some fresh coriander (or danya as it is called in the Cape Town Malay community).
Lira was born Lira Molapo in the East Rand town of Daveyton (Ekurhuleni). Her music is a sweet mix of Afro-Jazz, RnB, soul among others.
After winning a competitions for young singers and songwriters, Lira started performing live at the age of 16, singing both cover versions and self-penned songs.
In 2000 she was discovered by musician and producer Arthur Mafokate, who had her sign with his own record label, 999 Music. She wrote all the songs on her album that was called All My Love (2003) and released in May 2003.
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu on Friday called on South Africans to throw some meat – or vegetables – on the coals to celebrate the country’s heritage and “braai“.
“We experienced an incredible spirit in the month of the World Cup when all that mattered was that we were members of this extraordinary Rainbow Nation,” Tutu told journalists. “So I call on all of us to braai for Heritage Day, September 24. Let’s get together and enjoy ourselves, friends, families and even those who are not friends.”
Tutu is the patron of the “Braai for Heritage” campaign which is celebrated on September 24, an official public holiday to mark the nation’s multi-cultural heritage after the fall of apartheid in 1994.
The archbishop emeritus said the fireplace was a traditional gathering place in Africa and that anything from meat to vegetables could be put on a braai, a pastime enjoyed by South Africans of all races.
“We want to continue that tradition of all of us gathering on September 24, braaing for our heritage,” he said. “The important thing is all of us on that one day again getting together and just enjoying the fact of being South Africans.”
The 78-year-old, affectionately known as “the Arch” will retire from public life on his birthday next month after years of speaking out against apartheid’s white minority rule and injustices around the world. He will remain the patron of the braai campaign, which he joined in 2007.
“You can resign from an office job but you can never resign from being a braaier,” the campaign’s Jan Scannell told him in front of a banner featuring a large t-bone steak in the shape of Africa.
Errol Dyers is the ultimate creative artist. A musician, poet and playwright, the acclaimed guitar maestro is highly respected as a pioneer of what has today become known as Cape Jazz / Ghoema.
During his illustrious career, Dyers has performed, recorded and toured locally and internationally with many great artists such as, the late Basil Coetzee, Winston Mankunku, Abdullah Ibrahim, Robbie Jansen & Mccoy Mrubata to name but a few.
Dyers’ music is inspired and influenced by the rhythms & melodies of Cape Town where he was born as well as the people who live there. Dyers has a unique guitar style which maintains an acoustic and reminiscent ancestral sound that captures the guitar strumming of the century-old Cape traditional and folk music.
Errol Dyers & the late Ezra Ngcukana at the Standard Bank Jazz Fest (Pic: Gary Van Dyk)
His style can be described as Cape Jazz, and some of the songs on his debut album, ‘Sonesta’, incorporated songs that are almost a hundred years old and stem from the earliest strummings of the Cape people that have been passed down through the generations.
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
I first saw Simphiwe Dana perform here in Hong Kong as part of a SA Department of Arts & Culture/SA Consulate initiative called “South Africa Week.” Before that I had never heard of, let alone seen Simphiwe Dana perform live.
I remember her doing a rather long song here at the Kowloon Shangrila Hotel, I stand to be corrected, but it could have been her hit song Zandisile. I also remember the audience in the Shangrila ballroom getting quite fidgety halfway through the song. I loved every moment of her set as I always try to soak in as much SA culture whenever we have such visits from home. When she performed Bantu Biko Street I knew I was hooked and when I got home later that evening, I did a quick Google search and discovered the African Diva that is Simphiwe Dana.
The next morning I took a taxi to The Shangrila, hoping to have a chat to her with a view of doing a story on Howzit-HongKong.com. However, when I finally traced her to the upstairs restaurant, seeing her basking in the early morning sunlight reading a book, I couldn’t get myself to disturb her as she looked so peaceful.
Simphiwe Dana (born 1980) is a Xhosa pop singer in South Africa. With her unique combination of jazz, pop, and traditional music, she has been hailed as the “new Miriam Makeba”.
In 2005, Simphiwe Dana won the “Best Newcomer” award at the 11th South African Music Awards with her first album “Zandisile”. Two years later, she was named the “Best Female Artist”, with the song “The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street”, at the 13th South African Music Awards.
Simphiwe Dana is also active in the world music scene in Europe.
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
Born in Retreat, Cape Town in 1943, Winston was the first-born in a musical family.
He started “fooling around” on the piano at age seven, and later tried his hand at both clarinet and trumpet. In his mid-teens, however, he decided that the sound of the saxophone was the sound he wanted, and started to learn the alto, then the tenor saxophone.
Winston Monwabisi Mankunku Ngozi passed away on Monday, 12 October 2009.
The acclaimed tenor and soprano saxophonist was 66 years old.
Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one South African music legend every Friday as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
As I mentioned in a previous post, on Sunday Howzit-HongKong.com attended the South African Tourism Workshop at the Park Lane Hotel in Causeway Bay.
As always, not only was it yet another occasion where I got to meet an old university acquaintance totally by chance (I last saw him 20 years ago), but it was an opportunity to catch up with what is happening back home in terms of our country’s tourism industry.
My family and I make our annual Hong Kong summer trip home to the Western Cape and we always make a point of visiting as many places as we can fit in-between all the family commitments. Talk about being a tourist in one’s own country!
It was therefore a bonus that officials from the Cape Winelands District Municipality were part of the South African delegation at the Workshop. My family home is located just outside the world-famous Stellenbosch Wine Route which, of course, is located within the Cape Winelands District. As annual visitors to towns and amenities located in this District, I learned of many new offerings that has been developed in the region… some have been there for decades.
More about that later.
While researching (read: Google) the District, I came upon this informative series of video-clips on the Cape Winelands. As the wine retail industry is growing exponentially here in Hong Kong, we thought that it would be a great idea to share these videos here on Howzit-Hong Kong.com:
Much like the late-night shenanigans of the recently completed World Cup, this was one to stay up for.
I caught the final flurry of The Open at St Andrews where Louis Oosthuizen captured his first Major in fine, fine style, concluding at the 18th hole at about 01h30 Hong Kong time.
Mosselbaai native Louis Oosthuizen (or “Lewis Oorsten-howzen” as per the ESPN commentary team) just clinched his first-ever golf Major by winning The Open at the home of golf, St Andrews.
Oosthuizen won his first major title by seven strokes over runner-up Lee Westwood of England on the famed Old Course.
He also became the first player since American Tony Lema in 1964 to win his first major title at the birthplace of golf, firing a final-round one-under par 71 to finish 72 holes on 16-under par 272.
England’s Lee Westwood finished second on nine-under, his fourth top-three finish in the past five majors. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and England’s Paul Casey shared third on eight-under.
This historic win was made special when Oosthuizen, before saying anything else during his acceptance speech, wished former South African president Nelson Mandela a very happy 92nd birthday.
All hail our newest Champion:
Lodewikus Theodorus Oosthuizen.
The Champion at St Andrews… Louis Oosthuizen
This is mine! The Open 2010 Champions Louis Oosthuizen
Louis Oosthuizen embraces his caddy after clinching The Open title.
Today is your special day. Mine was a week ago. Please have a lekker day and don’t let the fact that the whole world wants to be in on it, deter you from having a wonderful day with Graca and your family.
