Cultural Performances

Sharing Tradition, Beauty & Spirit

The Chinyakare Ensemble is the performance arm of the Kumusha Foundation. The Chinyakare Ensemble is a family of musicians, dancers and teachers committed to preserving and performing traditional Zimbabwean music and dance.

​

Founded by Julia Tsitsi Chigamba in 2001, the Chinyakare Ensemble has brought cultural performances to a wide variety of audiences for over 15 years. Some notable performances include the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Africa Day Celebration (Washington DC), Sierra Nevada World Music Festival and the Zimbabwean Music Festival.

The Chinyakare Ensemble has partnered with educational institutions such as Young Audiences of Northern California, and has also been invited to teach and perform at various universities such as California State University Monterey Bay, Sacramento State University and University of Rochester in New York, and others.

Julia has also directed theatrical and choreographed performances, such as “Bembero Mudengu” (Telling My Story) which was the result of a series of community based workshops in 2005. For this performance, community members and students who attended the workshops were invited to perform, and Julia also brought over members of her family from Zimbabwe to participate, her father Sekuru Tute Chigamba and her sister Irene Chigamba, who are also renowned musicians, recognized around the globe.

The Kumusha Foundation is committed to supporting the Chinyakare Ensemble to continue to perform at world class institutions to share the deep beauty and spirit of traditional Zimbabwean music and dance.

​

Members of the Chinyakare Ensemble include Julia Tsitsi Chigamba, DeLisa Branch-Nealy, Russ Landers, Ronnie Daliyo, Casey Daliyo, Kanukai Chigamba, Augustine Basa, Gerald Basa and Moeketsi Gibe, and are sometimes joined by other members for special events.

​

{ photos by: Cliff Warner, Lloyd Munjaja, RJ Munya, Frank Jang }