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ufic choir

Tawanda Matanhire Arts Reporter
In most religions, music has been openly acknowledged as a gift or a blessing from God. It is through this gift that most people in various Zimbabwean churches praise and thank God for all the good things he has done.

Some praise him for life lessons they have gone through.

It is in churches where artistes like Ivy Kombo, the Charambas among others, have realised their singing talents and grown to become stars.

Of late, Zimbabwe has witnessed the emergence of mass choirs which are proving to be launchpads for many gospel music careers.

Outstanding groups like Zimpraise, Xtreme Afrique, UFIC Choir, Celebration Choir and African Joy are the biggest acts in this domain with members touring countries around the world and their music dominating the charts on most radio and television stations.

The development has seen the convergence of many artistes into one unit for shows and ushered in the resurgence of forgotten artists like Pastor Haisa.

Award-winning UFIC Choir has a staggering membership of 500 artists and is one of the biggest choral acts in the country, with several awards to its credit.

Zimpraise started the initiative to operate in the same style as the popular South African outfit, Joyous Celebration, who for years have managed to attract a huge following in the country and across the region.

Zimpraise leader Joseph Madziyire said that the core purpose of his group is to preach the good news of God.

“I manage the vision which I had when I started Zimpraise which is preaching, everything else God has his way of doing it.

“Of course, it was difficult when we started but it was a learning process and God has enabled us to do it right,” Madziyire said.

The group currently boasts a 150-strong membership, with artists converging from different denominations.

Zimpraise has bagged several awards locally and seem to be progressing well.

“Managing a lot of people from different backgrounds can be challenging especially when they are young and yet to launch their careers.

“The ability to deal with that comes from God who gave me the vision,” said Madziyire.

“Some artistes are very young, others still in high school. That means they need extra care as they are still growing, hence in need of guidance,” he said.

While preaching the word of God is the main objective, the use of money in moving the gospel cannot be ignored.

“Our main objective is to groom young talents and when they feel they are ready to operate as individuals they are free to launch their careers.

“We are not able to pay every artist because of our economic situation but we believe grooming them is more important than financial rewards,” Madziyire said.

He added: “Zimpraise does a lot to benefit our artistes. We organise workshops and mentorship programmes and even train them to do business as a way of enhancing their careers. As such when they go out to launch their careers individually, they are well equipped.”

The groups have attracted attention from the diaspora where they are invited to perform at different gigs and they are paid for these performances or some partner with the groups.

Xtreme Afrique is an interdenominational choir founded by top producer Lyton Ngolomi, husband to singing sensation Bethany Pasinawako two years ago, to nurture and expose gospel talent.

Ngolomi says he prefers to work with young people as compared to established artistes.

“Young people are easy to deal with because they still have the zeal and are willing to go the extra mile unlike working with established artist,” said Ngolomi.

Xtreme Afrique, which was recently nominated for the Africa Golden Virtual Awards in the Best African Gospel Group category, will soon be travelling for the awards ceremony to be held in Canada.

“We are excited with such recognition and we hope most of our members will take part because we will also be performing.

“It is my desire for us to travel together so that the young talents feel they are part of the family. This will also help them appreciate their role in the brand Xtreme Afrique,” he added.

African Joy is set to tour different countries across the globe to promote their brand.

People are asking if the members are getting anything meaningful in terms of remuneration from these endeavours.

“We share what we get from our shows and make sure every member gets a fraction of what we get,” said Joseph Banda from the Group Xtreme Afrique.

African Joy founder Sabastian Magacha said his group was yet to receive meaningful financial rewards but was actually incurring costs to meet its schedule.

“Yes, we give tokens of appreciation to artists but we know it cannot do much. Our vision is to see them happy and content,” Magacha said.

These musical outfits have raised many artists, some of whom are now enjoying the benefits of exposure.

Bethany Pasinawako was once part of Zimpraise and together with her husband Ngolomi she has managed to come up with their own brand Xtreme Afrique which has achieved a lot.

Magacha was also part of Zimpraise and has since founded African Joy which comprises artists from across the region and has already attracted the attention of promoters from outside the country as it prepares for international tours.

Other artistes like Lloyd Tevedzayi, Patience Masiyambiri, Tembalami, Kudakwashe Mutsvene and Mupostori Wency have also launched their independent careers from Zimpraise.

While managing a lot of people could prove challenging, it is a good initiative for artistes to come together for a common goal of promoting local talent so that the music industry grows.

However, there is need for proper management of these groups so that the members get meaningful financial rewards to sustain their livelihoods.