Dartmouth Events

Instruments provided—just come with your voice and your hands for clapping!

Othnell Mangoma Moyo is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, musical archivist, activist, and instrument builder based in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is one of the few remaining guardians of Zimbabwe's ancient musical culture and spirituality. His work focuses on endangered musical instruments, revitalizing those banned during colonization. In performance, he shares his ancestors' music, highlighting instruments like the mbira, ngoma, and ngororombe to present traditional and experimental styles that emphasize spirituality and spark dialogue around colonialism, capitalism, and cultural preservation. On stage, he plays self-made instruments, shifting from technical to trance-like playing and singing while blending traditional village styles with urban improvisation, always aiming to respect the spiritual and communal purpose of Zimbabwe's music.

He has so far represented Zimbabwe in more than 30 countries of the world, in over 400 venues and international festivals, and participated in a number of international musical collaborations with artists from Norway, Austria, Sweden, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, France, India, Indonesia and more. In 2016 he was selected for the OneBeat (USA) programm, where he collaborated with artists from 17 countries, enriching his relationship with music by exposure to other cultures of the world.

Ngoma Ingungu Cultural Arts Center is a hub for creatives founded by Othnell Mangoma Moyo and is his response to the lack of dedicated work space for artists practicing ancient Zimbabwean art forms. Located in the Munyawiri area, Chigiji Road, in Domboshava, Goromonzi District of Zimbabwe, a 40-km. drive north from the capital city of Harare, the center is a space for learning, gathering, exchange and transmission of traditionalaArt forms to the younger generation, by provision of intergenerational and peer-to-peer mentorship for artists and young creatives. The center also provides a conducive environment for rehearsals, residencies, exhibitions and performances. Many creatives will also find it favorable for building traditional musical instruments and the vast information gathered over the years by various preservers of culture.