A new Zimfest 2015 web site is online at https://2015.zimfest.org. Marketplace vendor information and applications are now available there.
The 2015 Zimbabwean Music Festival will take place August 13-16 on the campus of Western Oregon University in Monmouth. The full festival schedule and online registration will be available in May.
Online applications to perform and teach at Zimfest 2015 close Sunday March 15. If you have been thinking about applying, now is the time for action! Log in at 2015.zimfest.org and do it – tell us what you’d like to teach, or who your band is. We are especially looking for dance, drumming, language, karimba (nyunga nyunga) and cultural presentation workshops.
Zimfest 2015: Enduring Rhythms ~ Gathering in Harmony
The Zimfest 2015 Organizing Committee
Beware, the Ides of March cometh! Online applications to perform and teach at Zimfest 2015 are due March 15! This year’s festival runs from August 13 to 16 and will take place at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, just west of Salem. We are hoping to see lots of performing groups from Portland and Eugene this year, and teachers from all over. Submit your applications now, don’t wait until the last minute! Please address any questions to or .
Apply Online at https://2015.zimfest.org
On behalf of the Zimfest Association,
—Zimfest Coordinator Claire Jones
(P.S. — Don’t forget Zimfest Association is now registered to receive donations when people shop at AmazonSmile. You can support the festival by choosing Zimfest Association as the organization you would like to receive 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases at AmazonSmile.)
Dear Zimfest Community,
It’s time to submit your Zimfest 2015 applications online! Teacher and performer applications are available now at https://2015.zimfest.org. The due date for applications is March 15, 2015.
Please be advised that we are using Google accounts for login this year; When you log in, you will be prompted to sign in using a Google account, and we recommend that you use a Gmail account if you already have one. Alternatively, you may register a Google account for an email address of your choice (including third-party providers such as Yahoo) by following these directions: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2015 Zimbabwean Music Festival August 13-16th at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. The theme for this year’s festival is “Enduring Rhythms ~ Gathering in Harmony.”
If you are artistically inclined, there is still time to submit designs and artwork to be used on Zimfest promotional material. For more info, see our previous blog post Zimfest 2015 Theme and Call for Artwork Submissions.
Please remember that the festival needs your volunteer help! If you are interested in volunteering, please write
Best regards on behalf of the 2015 Organizing Committee,
Claire Jones
2015 Zimfest Coordinator
The Zimfest Association Board and I recently made the announcement that the 2015 Zimbabwean Music Festival will be held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth OR, August 13-16, 2015. I am happy to say that the Tech Committee has been working hard to improve the website and online registration system; we are targeting mid-January for online applications to open on the festival website at https://2015.zimfest.org. There is much to do before that date, and I have been recruiting team members to work on the Zimfest Organizing Committee for the past month. It really does take a village—we are in desperate need of people who can give up some time and energy to make the next Zimfest a great one! Helping out with the annual festival is a great way to give back for all the joy and enrichment you have experienced through this wonderful music.
If you have the time and commitment, volunteer for the core organizing committee, members of which meet regularly via skype and take responsibility for major areas of the festival: Teacher and Workshop Scheduling, Concert planning and production, Marketplace and Vendors Coordination, Volunteer Coordinator.
If you have small chunks of time, there are many other tasks that you can do leading up to (as well as at) the festival: publicity and marketing; festival guide article and ad solicitation, proofreading, editing and production; website content proofing and updating; T-shirt production and sales; airport pickups/drop-offs.
If you are a group that would like to work on a project together, I envision several opportunities: work party to put together registration packets; festival decorations; festival signage; festival site cleanup crew.
Please let me know if and how you can help: e-mail claire [at] zimfest {dot} org
Claire Jones
Zimfest Coordinator
Dear Zimfest Community,
The Zimfest Board and I are pleased to announce the dates and location for next year’s festival. Zimfest 2015 will be held August 13-16, 2015 at Western Oregon University. WOU is a campus of about 6,000 located in Monmouth, OR, 20 minutes west of the capital, Salem. We are happy to return the festival to Oregon, in a location that is nearly equidistant from Portland and Eugene—an easy 75 minute drive from either city. Monmouth is in the heart of the beautiful Willamette Valley, wine country, with easy access to the Oregon coast.
The Grove at WOU, Potential Zimfest Marketplace Site
We realize that we are somewhat late in announcing these dates to you, and want to let you know that we have been researching potential Zimfest sites not only for 2015 but for future festivals as well. It has become more and more difficult to find the facilities we require for a full festival at affordable rates and desirable dates. For this reason the need to settle on one or more semi-permanent sites has become more urgent. We are hoping Western Oregon University might work for our community as a home. As always, we ask for your feedback.
I am also late to form an organizing committee! If you would like to be involved in planning and organizing Zimfest 2015 in any way or form, please e-mail me: claire-at-zimfest-dot-org.
Best regards,
Claire Jones
Zimfest Coordinator
Opening Night JULY 24 with MOKOOMBA
Zimfest 2014 breaks new ground with an opening night concert featuring Zimbabwe’s hottest band on the international “world music” circuit, Mokoomba! The Zimfest Organizing Committee is proud to present this terrific new Afro-fusion group who have been making a name for themselves worldwide. The band of six young men hails from Victoria Falls, home to the Tonga people, and combines traditional and modern instruments with a rich blend of rhythms. Their vibrant sound, largely originating from spectacular lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza, draws on traditional Tonga music, while also embracing the diverse music cultures of southern Africa.
MOKOOMBA
Mokoomba will perform at 9 PM on Thursday night, July 24th, following the free Zimfest Opening Ceremony in Schneebeck Hall in the University of Puget Sound Music Building. Unlike the Thursday evening outdoor concerts of previous years, Opening Night with Mokoomba will be a ticketed indoor concert, with an advance purchase price of $20 for adults. Tickets will go on sale on the 2014 Zimfest website (2014.zimfest.org) when online registration opens on May 1. Mark your calendars now – we think you will find the $20 ticket a bargain price to pay for one of the premier African dance bands on the global stage!
Reviews of MOKOOMBA’S latest CD, Rising Tide:
“Mokoomba is quite simply the most impressive band Zimbabwe has produced in recent memory. The sheer density of ideas in this session is impressive, but it never feels like the musicians are merely checking off stylistic boxes. This is an A+ international debut… In all, Mokoomba, riding their own rising tide, are the best news we have heard out of Zimbabwe in years.” (Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide, USA, August 2012)
“I’ve seen the future of Afrosound and it is called Mokoomba.” (Thorsten Bednarz, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Germany, October 2012)
Enjoy this video clip of Mokoomba in performance in Belgium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivakk2MPw0U&feature=relmf.
– Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Greetings Zimfest community,
Applications to teach and perform at Zimfest 2014 in Tacoma close on February 28. Please don’t wait until the last minute to get your application in online! Workshop teacher applicants, please note that we are bringing back the Continuing Education workshops to allow Washington State classroom teachers to earn clock hours at Zimfest. We’re looking for exciting workshops geared towards classroom teachers. If you haven’t seen it, here is the description that appears in the Zimfest teacher application:
Zimfest recognizes the growing popularity of Zimbabwean-style marimbas in schools, and in 2014 will offer continuing education clock hours for Washington State classroom teachers. We are requesting experienced Zimfest instructors to propose workshops that will help provide schoolteachers with background on Zimbabwean culture and/or enrich their knowledge of the great diversity of Zimbabwean music and dance. Possibilities include songs and choral pieces appropriate for school marimba groups and choirs; workshops on Zimbabwean children’s games, drumming, and dancing; and cultural presentations.
Go to http://2014.zimfest.org/applications/ to apply.
Thanks,
Claire
2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Zimfest teacher and performer applications opened January 15th. We are waiting for your applications! In the surveys filled out at Zimfest 2013, some of you said you wanted a wider variety of workshops on cultural topics. If you are a teacher, we want to hear your ideas! Go to http://2014.zimfest.org/applications/
If you are a student of Zimbabwean music, would you attend a workshop to learn Shona or Ndebele and discuss the culture behind the music? How about a panel discussion on preserving intangible culture of which music and language is a major part?
Let us know!
—Zimfest 2014 Organizing Committee
Dear Zimfest Community,
Happy New Year everyone! It’s 2014 and time to submit your Zimfest teacher and performer applications. All applications are available online at http://2014.zimfest.org.
Please mark your calendars for the 2014 Zimbabwean Music Festival July 24-27th at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
Thursday July 24th is Zimfest Pre-Fest with the opportunity to schedule private lessons during the day and the opening ceremony in the evening. On Friday the schedule starts in earnest with three days of workshops, afternoon and evening concerts and the African marketplace.
Please remember that the festival needs your volunteer help! If you are interested in volunteering, please email volunteers [at] zimfest {dot} org.
Best regards on behalf of the 2014 Organizing Committee,
Claire Jones
2014 Zimfest Coordinator
Hi Zimbabwean music lovers,
These Zimfest 2014 “Save the Date” announcement cards will be coming out soon. Take note – continuing education clock hours will be available for Washington State teachers!
Pamberi neChinyakare – Forward with the Past – Pambile nga Masiko
Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Festival Coordinator
Greetings Zimfest Community,
I’m excited to be named the Festival Coordinator for the next Zimbabwean Music Festival (July 24-27, 2014), and I think you will enjoy the lovely campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma! In consultation with Cosmas Magaya and Lucky Moyo, we have agreed on a theme for Zimfest 2014, inspired by a saying in chiShona from Ambuya Beauler Dyoko: Pamberi neChinyakare—meaning Forward with the Past/Tradition or Pambili nga Masiko (siNdebele). Sekuru Cosmas says the theme is perfect because we need to counter the attack on traditional practices from some of the Apostolic/Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe; Lucky agrees that it is a great statement and likes that it connects us with Ambuya.
We have set the date of January 15, 2014 for online applications to open on the festival website at https://2014.zimfest.org. There is much to do before that date, and I am now recruiting team members to work on festival organizing. Helping out with the annual Zimfest gathering is a great way to give back for all the joy and enrichment you have experienced through this wonderful music
If you have the time and commitment, volunteer for the core organizing committee, members of which meet regularly via skype and take responsibility for major areas of the festival: Teacher and Workshop Scheduling, Concert planning and production, Marketplace and Vendors Coordination, Volunteer Coordinator.
If you have small chunks of time, there are many other tasks that you can do leading up to (as well as at) the festival: publicity and marketing; festival guide article solicitation, proofreading, editing and production; website content proofing and updating; T-shirt production and sales; airport pickups/drop-offs.
If you are a group that would like to work on a project together, I envision several opportunities: work party to put together registration packets; festival decorations; festival signage; festival site cleanup crew.
Please let me know if and how you can help: e-mail claire [at] zimfest {dot} org
Pamberi neChinyakare – Forward with the Past – Pambili nga Masiko
Claire Jones, 2014 Zimfest Festival Coordinator
