In association with Concerts SA, Pedro the Musicman continues the national schools’ tour of XyloFun, a performance-based program designed to help teachers to implement the music curriculum effectively while having great musical fun along the way.
In this third leg of the Xylofun national tour – following successful legs in the Free State and Gauteng, Pedro the Musicman will be working in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. 5 schools in the region will each receive 3 xylophones for a total of 15 instruments and a 10-hour long training course during the week of the 11th of September. A performance for the community of the materials learnt by the workshop participants will take place at Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School in Loskop (near Winterton) on Friday 15th.
XyloFun is an instrument –a high-quality 15-note xylophone– and a method delivered through four two-hour workshops ending with a performance for the community by Pedro and the teachers taking part in the workshops.
45 xylophones and 15 workshop sessions will be delivered during the four workshop weeks, resourcing disadvantaged teachers in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape. In addition, four end-of-workshop performances will take place for the communities around the schools and centres targeted.
The XyloFun tour will reach a total of 27 schools (5 in the Drakensberg region, 12 in Gauteng, 10 in the Free State), as well as a community brass ensemble project and a rehabilitation centre in Cape Town. Pedro says: “Students of all ages love the action of playing xylophones and, with the XyloFun system, their enthusiasm is sustained when they see that they can start playing exciting and creative music within 5 minutes without having to learn the theory first.”
The XyloFun system uses a playing technique that is inspired from traditional African xylophones and allows one instrument to accommodate up to three players performing complementary parts. The system can be used at all ages from pre-school through to primary and high school and into adulthood. The keys of the XyloFun instruments are marked with three colours – red, blue and green – which correspond to the three chords used in many popular songs and form the basis for the easy XyloFun notation system. Following the clear guidelines in the manual and CD, the learners play satisfying “real” music from the very first lesson.
Pedro “the Musicman” is one of South Africa’s most loved and famous storytellers for young and old audiences alike. He has worked as a musician, composer, story-teller and educator for more than thirty years in South Africa and around the world. Pedro uses the African story telling style, which includes much participation from the audience, to introduce traditional African instruments and to inspire people of all ages with the joy of African music.
As Pedro explains: “Music is one of the most demanding disciplines to teach and the curriculum includes difficult theoretical concepts such as scales, chords, and chord progressions. However, many teachers have not received appropriate training and most schools do not have any musical instruments. The result is that the majority of children lose out on practical music education which – aside from its intrinsic benefits – has been linked in many studies to improved learning in reading, maths and problem solving skills.”
Pedro the Musicman’s XyloFun Tour is supported by Concerts SA through the Music Mobility Fund, a funding mechanism which offers opportunities for South African musicians to undertake live music tours. Additional support has been provided by Invernario Trust.
Artist Links
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Events Listing
Loskop – Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School [Workshop]
Monday 11th September – 2pm to 4pm– No cover charge (Students & Media only)
Address: Emoyeni Area, Near Bhengu’s Shop, Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal (-28.9425, 29.5563)
Bookings: 084 230 0683 / espisanchis@gmail.com
Loskop – Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School [Workshop]
Tuesday 12th September – 2pm to 4pm – No cover charge (Students & Media only)
Address: Emoyeni Area, Near Bhengu’s Shop, Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal (-28.9425, 29.5563)
Bookings: 084 230 0683 / espisanchis@gmail.com
Loskop – Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School [Workshop]
Wednesday 13th September – 2pm to 4pm – No cover charge (Students & Media only)
Address: Emoyeni Area, Near Bhengu’s Shop, Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal (-28.9425, 29.5563)
Bookings: 084 230 0683 / espisanchis@gmail.com
Loskop – Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School [Workshop]
Thursday 14th September – 2pm to 4pm – No cover charge (Students & Media only)
Address: Emoyeni Area, Near Bhengu’s Shop, Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal (-28.9425, 29.5563)
Bookings: 084 230 0683 / espisanchis@gmail.com
Loskop – Nkosi Mjwayeli Primary School [Concert]
Friday 15th September – 1pm – No cover charge
Address: Emoyeni Area, Near Bhengu’s Shop, Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal (-28.9425, 29.5563)
Bookings: 084 230 0683 / espisanchis@gmail.com
