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Bow Project concert a night to remember
The Bow Project concert that took place on Tuesday evening in the Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for Unisa's music lovers. The project was initiated by the New Music Indaba founder-director, Dr Michael Blake, as part of the National Arts Festival.
According to Dr Blake, "The Bow Project is a concept of taking traditional music and having a classical composer put a classical melody to it." He added that the term "bow" was chosen because the bow instrument is a traditional South African instrument. "Andrew Tracey, the musicologist, said that he wanted to see the bow instrument becoming the National Cultural weapon in South Africa," added Dr Blake.
The night was filled with melodies offered by Mantombi Matotiyana, a traditional Xhosa singer and bow instrument player. Mantombi Matotiyana’s sound took the audience on a mental journey to the deep rural Xhosa villages of the Eastern Cape. She shared the stage with the Nightingale String Quartet. Personifying the old Xhosa men when smoking their pipes, the quartet sat in circle on a well-lit stage. The audience clapped passionately to the music and got "lost" in the music.
The lighting system of the Miriam Makeba Concert Hall added to the lively atmosphere that was created by the performers.
The concert was arranged by the Department of Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology in the College of Human Sciences, and made available through the generosity of the College of Human Sciences and its Executive Dean, Prof RMH Moeketsi | 
