This item relates to the PhD research of Chartwell Dutiro at Bath Spa University, the Mbira Hut Project.
Chartwell Dutiro is a musician-singer-songwriter-composer-teacher also founder and Artistic Director of Mhararano Mbira Academy. Mbira is an ancient mystic traditional musical instrument from Zimbabwe. It is sometimes played in all night ritual ceremonies called Bira. For centuries Shona people of Zimbabwe have always believe in connecting with the ancestral spirits for daily guidance. Mbira music is the lynch pin between the Shaman/Spirit medium and the spirits of the ancestors.Chartwell now living in UK grew up in Zimbabwe. From the age of 4 he was already playing mbira for all night ritual ceremonies and publicperformances,and is now regarded as a World-Class Mbira player. He uses the instrument as an education tool,to encompass both traditional and contemporary perspectives,challenge stereotypes and encourage creative engagement.
Chartwell draws on his experience of growing up in rural segregated Zimbabwe to build bridges between cultures and make links between contemporary Zimbabwe and life in Britain and around the world today.Chartwell Dutiro holds a Masters degree in Ethnomusicology from SOAS University of London. Currently is a Visiting Research Fellow at Bath Spa University in UK. For more info:chartwellusa.wordpress.com
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