Arts at Queens: Nobuntu Playbill

SARAH BELK GAMBRELL CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE

WELCOME TO THE

SARAH BELK GAMBRELL CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT With it’s opening in February 2020, the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement became a hub for transformational cultural education, experiences, and engagement for our students, faculty and staff, and the greater Charlotte community.

The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center is home to the acoustically gorgeous, 995seat Sandra Levine Theatre, the intimate 150-seat Kathryn Greenhoot Recital Hall, two visual art galleries, eight classrooms, and myriad practice rooms and workspaces for students. Gambrell is the cultural and creative center of campus and is home to academic, visual, performing and literary arts programs, including design and music therapy.

THE MISSION OF THE GAMBRELL CENTER

The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement is a dynamic arts destination for our community and students to share in diverse cultural experiences. The Gambrell Center facilitates creative scholarship through interdisciplinary collaboration and offers a vibrant gathering place for educational exploration. Queens demonstrates its commitment to this mission by presenting world-class performances, conversations, and exhibitions, showcasing exemplary faculty and student works, and providing an inspiration for design, creativity, and artistic expression.

SARAH BELK GAMBRELL CENTER STAFF

Laura Kratt, Executive Director Kristof Leopold, Technical Director Megan Triplett, Operations Manager Liz Ball, Patron Services Manager Scott Brower, Media Specialist Amanda Mullen, Media Specialist Jane Wiley, Media Specialist

704-337-2466 www.arts.queens.edu thearts@queens.edu

The Gambrell Center team programs and manages the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center, provides shared leadership of Arts at Queens and production services to events across campus.

ARTS AT QUEENS: SPOTLIGHT SERIES presents

NOBUNTU Saturday, October 5, 2024 7:30 p.m.

Sandra Levine Theatre ARTISTS:

Suduzile Sibanda Joyline Sibanda

Zanele Manhenga Thandeka Moyo

Nobuntu, the female a cappella quartet from Zimbabwe, has drawn international acclaim for its inventive performances that range from traditional Zimbabwean songs to Afro Jazz to Gospel. The ensemble’s concerts are performed with pure voices, augmented by minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as the Mbira (thumb piano) and organic, authentic dance movements.

Nobuntu was nominated for Best Musician of the Year at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards in London in 2015 and are currently a two-time winner for the Best Imbube Group at the Bulawayo Arts Awards 2017 and 2019. In the last few seasons, the quintet has performed at festivals and concert halls in Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and throughout the African continent. The ensemble was a huge critical success at “Trans-Vocal” in Frankfurt and “Voice Mania” in Vienna.

Their first tour to Canada, in 2016, included performances in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Victoria.

The word Nobuntu is an African concept that values humbleness, love, unity and family from a woman’s perspective. The ensemble represents a new generation of young African women singers who celebrate and preserve their culture, beauty, and heritage through art. The ensemble’s mission is the belief that music can be an important vehicle for change, one that transcends racial, tribal, religious, gender, and economic boundaries.

Back at home, Nobuntu holds a number of community initiatives, one of which is The Nobuntu Pad Bank where they gather sanitary pads for young women in the arts in underprivileged communities.

Nobuntu has released three recordings – Thina in 2013, Ekhaya in 2016 and Obabes beMbube in 2018. The group has made dozens of television and radio appearances throughout Africa and Europe promoting these recordings and the culture of their homeland.

Nobuntu is presented by arrangement with: Alliance Artists Management 579 West 215th Street #2B, NY, NY 10034

Nobuntu is presented in

collaboration with

In her show, Makin’ Cake, Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton uses the history of baking to explore race, culture, and class in a refreshing and fun way.

It is multimedia storytelling filled with aha-moments and poignant vignettes, and two on-stage bakers serving engaging audiences in a conversation about equity in America.

Part history lesson, part social science revelation, Makin’ Cake is a short story about America's sweet tooth with a cake reception immediately following the show.

FOR THE PEOPLE:

DEMOCRACY IN CONVERSATION a non-partisan exploration of perspectives on democracy

The Connected Campus 2024

Join us this fall for “The Connected Campus” – a brand new creative ecosystem of events at the Gambrell Center that explore perspectives on democracy and encourage us all to take a deep dive into the founding principles of our country.

Events include concerts, lectures, panel discussions, art exhibitions, and maybe some cake! Most events are free. We hope to see you at the Gambrell Center this fall!

Supported, in part, by WFAE, the Infusion Fund and its generous donors.

https://www.queens.edu/arts/connected-campus/

Celebrating a century of Broadway magic from Hammerstein to Hamilton, Some Enchanted Evening is a jazz-steeped sojourn exploring a bevy of the American Songbook’s most enduring hits from the golden age to today, combining timeless music and dance. Led by 33-year-old Emmy-nominated trumpeter and crooner Benny Benack III, the performance features the lavishly gifted singer and social media sensation, Stella Cole and North Carolina tap dance phenom, Jabu Graybeal.

Through master classes, workshops, lectures, panel discussions and other activities with visiting Spotlight Series artists, students learn from world-class arts professionals who are tops in their field.

At Queens, we believe that no matter what degrees or skills are sought, a well-rounded education includes the arts. Elevating the student experience is a central goal of Arts at Queens and we invite the community to join us!

WELCOME. SUPPORT. LIFT UP. ARTS AT QUEENS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP Tickets sales only cover a fraction of the cost of the programs and daily operations of the Gambrell Center. With your annual membership, outstanding concerts, plays, readings, exhibitions, and educational programs will continue to grow. During the 23-24 season, our members make it possible to provide two residencies, hands-on learning experiences and workshops for students attending Queens and the Charlotte Mecklenburg school system.

Won’t you become a member?

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ARTS AT QUEENS MEMBERS GUARDIAN Sally and Brian Bridgford Sandra Levine Sam and Carolyn G. McMahon BENEFACTOR Georgia and Bill Belk Kathy and Peter Browning Alexandra E. Butler Joye D. Blount and Jessie J. Knight Siu Challons-Lipton and Jordan Lipton Dr. & Mrs. Herb Clegg Daphne Glorian-Solomon and Eric Solomon Audean and Berkley Godehn Jerry and Gaile Greenhoot Barbara Karro and Bill Gorelick

Tamea Price Harriet Seabrook

Claudia and Andy Heath Barbara Laughlin Kathy and Bill McCollum Susan McConnell and Josephine Hicks Susan and Bob Salvin Emily Seelbinder and Lydia Edsell Ann and Michael Tarwater Sandi O. and Ben Thoman Will and Dorothy Trotter Dorothea West and Jim Levesque

PATRON Natascha Bechtler G. Peter Macon Kathy and Bill McCollum M. A. Rogers Mary Claire and Dan Wall

This listing is current as of 9.1.24

Thank you to our Season Sponsors: is sponsored, in part, by WFAE and the Infusion Fund and its generous donors Multi-million Dollar Commitment City of Charlotte $1.5 million and above Bank of America C.D. Spangler Foundation / National Gypsum Company John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Trane Technologies $600,000 - $1 million Albemarle Foundation Atrium Health Barings Duke Energy Honeywell JELD-WEN, Inc. LendingTree Foundation Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Novant Health Red Ventures Truist $300,000-$600,000 Ally Financial The Centene Charitable Foundation Childress Klein Properties Coca-Cola Consolidated Deloitte EY The Gambrell Foundation Moore & Van Allen PwC Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. Rodgers Builders Wells Fargo Up to $300,000 Fifth Third Bank Foundation For The Carolinas Deidre and Clay Grubb Leslie and Michael Marsicano Jane and Hugh McColl Nucor Corporation PNC Bank Premier, Inc. Jane and Nelson Schwab

Charlotte Concerts Legacy Fund

BE A PART OF THE SHOW! The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center’s Patron Services staff sincerely hopes you enjoy your concert experience tonight! If you have any feedback you would like to share, watch for an audience survey next week or reach out anytime to thearts@queens.edu!

Our staff is comprised of Gambrell employees, Queens University students working as event staff and box office employees, AND valued community volunteers! If you love the arts and want to get more involved in the events and programming at Queens, please consider joining our volunteer usher team! There are a wide variety of opportunities to help with our goal of providing excellent service to all of our audiences; ticketing, greeting, directing and assisting arts patrons attending events, concerts and recitals at the Gambrell Center…plus you get to see some great performances too!

Please reach out to the Gambrell Center at 704.337.2466 or thearts@queens.com for more information!

QUEENS.EDU/ARTS | 704.337.2466