East Africa’s first professional music composer is no more
Sep 24, 2008
BEFORE his death, professor George Ssenoga-Zaake, a renowned musician and composer talked to <b>Elvis Basudde</b> about his life and music.The quotes in this story are taken from that interview.
BEFORE his death, professor George Ssenoga-Zaake, a renowned musician and composer talked to Elvis Basudde about his life and music.The quotes in this story are taken from that interview.
Uganda has lost another prominent professor, George Ssenoga-Zaake. Zaake, 87, died recently after a long battle with high blood pressure at Mulago Hospital. He was buried at Kyebando, Nansana, and is survived by a widow, Alice Ssenoga and eight children. Ssenoga was a professor of music; the first trained professional composer in East Africa, an accomplished singer and a distinguished author.
He was the first East African to get Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music (LRSM). He started the first Jazz Band in East Africa (1945) and he arranged the Kenya National Anthem.
To many Ugandans, the name Ssenoga-Zaake does not ring a bell. But to the outside world, particularly Kenya, this man is one of the great intellectuals Uganda has produced.
He left before Uganda got independence and lived in the diaspora for 60 years, spending half his life in Kenya, where he became an icon in the academia in various institutions.
I first met Ssenoga at Kenyatta University in 1980 while attending a talk he presented to high school teachers at the Kenya Science Teachers College, Nairobi.
I was also privileged to meet him in 2006 at his home in Abayitaababiri, Entebbe Road. He lived a quiet life and kept a low profile.
He was a very hospitable person and prepared a cup of tea for me. As we talked, I felt the vibrant personality of a writer and a music maestro who was deeply attached to his country and culture. His personality put me at ease.
Ssenoga spent all his lifetime teaching music. Even at his advanced age when he had retired, he still put his talent to use and also developed other people’s talents. He was still teaching music on part-time basis at Kyambogo University at the time of his death.
Peter Ekadu-Erem, the head of department of Music and Dance, Kyambogo University once described Ssenoga as a galactic gem, a priceless star who was at the top of the list of Ugandan heroes.
“Ssenoga has gone but his great contribution to the music industry remains vivid in our minds. His death is a big blow to Uganda’s music scene. He was a musician without comparison, a very rare man to find,†Ekadu said.
Ssenoga took part in the Second World War (1943-1945) and started the first Jazz band in East Africa (May 1946).
As a young boy growing up in Kampala, Ssenoga went to Mengo Central for his primary education. He started composing music when he joined Kings College Budo. But before he completed his S.4, a war broke out and he joined the army and was recruited in the East African Riffles.
In 1943, he went to Burma as part of the entertainment unit. He entertained soldiers with music and concerts but never put his gun away in case they were attacked.
On demobilisation from the World War 11 in 1946, Ssenoga suggested to his colleagues that since they should form a band since they did not have any qualifications for employment.
His colleagues bought the idea and made him their leader. The colonial Captain Colmore allowed them to keep their instruments so as to form the band.
In 1946, under the leadership of Ssenoga, they formed the Ex-service Men’s Company-Kawonawo Rhino Band, the first Jazz band in East Africa. The band had all the musical instruments used in a band, including violins.
“We had acquired French music in Madagascar and after staying with British and American musicians in the South East Asia Command (SEAC), we had learnt a lot and when we started playing in Kampala, people saw what they had never seen before,†Ssenoga said in an earlier interview.
“We were young, very vibrant and energetic. We held people spellbound with our thrilling music. During those years, there was little music known apart from church music.â€
Ssenoga gets Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music
Ssenoga’s band performed all over Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya in nightclubs and also did a lot of recordings. One day while performing in Mombasa, Philip Foster, a music lover and performer, spotted Ssenoga. He later adopted him as his son and sent him back to school to do better music.
Ssenoga’s dream had finally come true. Foster took him to Conservatory of Music, an academy of music in Kenya which essentially admitted Europeans. He did the Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music and became the first East African to get it. That was the beginning of Ssenoga’s music career.
“The white colonial official could not believe it in 1956 when I registered for the diploma that qualifies one to be a trained music teacher. It was only done by Europeans at the time,†he narrated in the earlier interview.
“When I told Edmond that I was going to register, he sarcastically replied: ‘My dear George, this is done only by English boys and girls in three years. They have to struggle to get it.’
To Edmond’s surprise, Ssenoga did the course in only one year. This greatly stunned the white colonialist, forcing him to pay his fees and buy him books to read. Ssenoga sat with an Englishman who failed the exams. Upon graduation, he started performing in English, Italian, French and German.
In Uganda, the course is taught only at Kampala Music School, Wandegeya and for one to register, they must have done a certificate and a diploma in music and passed very well. An examiner comes from the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, London.
Ssenoga arranges the Kenya National Anthem (KNA)
You would appreciate the fallen artiste more by analysing the Kenya National Anthem which he helped to put together. Unlike the Uganda national anthem that was composed, the KNA was just arranged from an existing lullaby of the Pokomo people. Ssenoga was part of the Anthem Commission that arranged the national anthem for the Uhuru (independence) celebrations.
There were four other commissioners with whom Ssenoga arranged the anthem. He trained the choir which sang the anthem before the prime minister and the cabinet.
The final version was recorded in Kiswahili and English on September 25, 1962. Ssenoga personally handed it over to Jomo Kenyatta who was the prime minister of Kenya then.
Ssenoga did not get a monetary gain for his tremendous contribution, but Kenyatta offered him a scholarship to study music in London.
Kenyatta was extremely excited when Ssenoga conducted the choir that sang the national anthem and when he eventually handed over the version to him he said in not so many words, “ I like it. Send this boy to an overseas university for further studies.â€
“To me it was more than a monetary gain because whatever is in my brain only God can extract. It can be lost if I die but I am passing it on to my people,†Ssenoga said.
That was how Ssenoga was awarded a scholarship to study music at Trinity College of Music in London, majoring in voice. But because he wanted to be a music teacher, he trained in all areas of music including theory, brush and string instruments, counter point and harmony.
While in London, he was among the Baganda students who received Kabaka Muteesa who had been deposed in Buganda. Mzee Joseph Kisenyi, a student in the UK then, recalls vividly how as the pianist, Ssenoga mesmerised the distinguished congregation with his musical skills during a thanks-giving service held in honour of the Kabaka at St Martins in the Field Church in Trafalgar Square. “Everyone in attendance marveled at the high level of organisation and talent that we had,†recounts Kisenyi. “He made us all proud.â€
Ssenoga is made a professor of music
On his return from London (1966) after undergoing a three-year training in music, Ssenoga joined the teaching staff of Kenyatta College, which later became a university. He established a music department, which he headed for 14 years. He was later made a professor at the university.
Uganda has lost another prominent professor, George Ssenoga-Zaake. Zaake, 87, died recently after a long battle with high blood pressure at Mulago Hospital. He was buried at Kyebando, Nansana, and is survived by a widow, Alice Ssenoga and eight children. Ssenoga was a professor of music; the first trained professional composer in East Africa, an accomplished singer and a distinguished author.
He was the first East African to get Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music (LRSM). He started the first Jazz Band in East Africa (1945) and he arranged the Kenya National Anthem.
To many Ugandans, the name Ssenoga-Zaake does not ring a bell. But to the outside world, particularly Kenya, this man is one of the great intellectuals Uganda has produced.
He left before Uganda got independence and lived in the diaspora for 60 years, spending half his life in Kenya, where he became an icon in the academia in various institutions.
I first met Ssenoga at Kenyatta University in 1980 while attending a talk he presented to high school teachers at the Kenya Science Teachers College, Nairobi.
I was also privileged to meet him in 2006 at his home in Abayitaababiri, Entebbe Road. He lived a quiet life and kept a low profile.
He was a very hospitable person and prepared a cup of tea for me. As we talked, I felt the vibrant personality of a writer and a music maestro who was deeply attached to his country and culture. His personality put me at ease.
Ssenoga spent all his lifetime teaching music. Even at his advanced age when he had retired, he still put his talent to use and also developed other people’s talents. He was still teaching music on part-time basis at Kyambogo University at the time of his death.
Peter Ekadu-Erem, the head of department of Music and Dance, Kyambogo University once described Ssenoga as a galactic gem, a priceless star who was at the top of the list of Ugandan heroes.
“Ssenoga has gone but his great contribution to the music industry remains vivid in our minds. His death is a big blow to Uganda’s music scene. He was a musician without comparison, a very rare man to find,†Ekadu said.
Ssenoga took part in the Second World War (1943-1945) and started the first Jazz band in East Africa (May 1946).
As a young boy growing up in Kampala, Ssenoga went to Mengo Central for his primary education. He started composing music when he joined Kings College Budo. But before he completed his S.4, a war broke out and he joined the army and was recruited in the East African Riffles.
In 1943, he went to Burma as part of the entertainment unit. He entertained soldiers with music and concerts but never put his gun away in case they were attacked.
On demobilisation from the World War 11 in 1946, Ssenoga suggested to his colleagues that since they should form a band since they did not have any qualifications for employment.
His colleagues bought the idea and made him their leader. The colonial Captain Colmore allowed them to keep their instruments so as to form the band.
In 1946, under the leadership of Ssenoga, they formed the Ex-service Men’s Company-Kawonawo Rhino Band, the first Jazz band in East Africa. The band had all the musical instruments used in a band, including violins.
“We had acquired French music in Madagascar and after staying with British and American musicians in the South East Asia Command (SEAC), we had learnt a lot and when we started playing in Kampala, people saw what they had never seen before,†Ssenoga said in an earlier interview.
“We were young, very vibrant and energetic. We held people spellbound with our thrilling music. During those years, there was little music known apart from church music.â€
Ssenoga gets Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music
Ssenoga’s band performed all over Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya in nightclubs and also did a lot of recordings. One day while performing in Mombasa, Philip Foster, a music lover and performer, spotted Ssenoga. He later adopted him as his son and sent him back to school to do better music.
Ssenoga’s dream had finally come true. Foster took him to Conservatory of Music, an academy of music in Kenya which essentially admitted Europeans. He did the Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music and became the first East African to get it. That was the beginning of Ssenoga’s music career.
“The white colonial official could not believe it in 1956 when I registered for the diploma that qualifies one to be a trained music teacher. It was only done by Europeans at the time,†he narrated in the earlier interview.
“When I told Edmond that I was going to register, he sarcastically replied: ‘My dear George, this is done only by English boys and girls in three years. They have to struggle to get it.’
To Edmond’s surprise, Ssenoga did the course in only one year. This greatly stunned the white colonialist, forcing him to pay his fees and buy him books to read. Ssenoga sat with an Englishman who failed the exams. Upon graduation, he started performing in English, Italian, French and German.
In Uganda, the course is taught only at Kampala Music School, Wandegeya and for one to register, they must have done a certificate and a diploma in music and passed very well. An examiner comes from the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, London.
Ssenoga arranges the Kenya National Anthem (KNA)
You would appreciate the fallen artiste more by analysing the Kenya National Anthem which he helped to put together. Unlike the Uganda national anthem that was composed, the KNA was just arranged from an existing lullaby of the Pokomo people. Ssenoga was part of the Anthem Commission that arranged the national anthem for the Uhuru (independence) celebrations.
There were four other commissioners with whom Ssenoga arranged the anthem. He trained the choir which sang the anthem before the prime minister and the cabinet.
The final version was recorded in Kiswahili and English on September 25, 1962. Ssenoga personally handed it over to Jomo Kenyatta who was the prime minister of Kenya then.
Ssenoga did not get a monetary gain for his tremendous contribution, but Kenyatta offered him a scholarship to study music in London.
Kenyatta was extremely excited when Ssenoga conducted the choir that sang the national anthem and when he eventually handed over the version to him he said in not so many words, “ I like it. Send this boy to an overseas university for further studies.â€
“To me it was more than a monetary gain because whatever is in my brain only God can extract. It can be lost if I die but I am passing it on to my people,†Ssenoga said.
That was how Ssenoga was awarded a scholarship to study music at Trinity College of Music in London, majoring in voice. But because he wanted to be a music teacher, he trained in all areas of music including theory, brush and string instruments, counter point and harmony.
While in London, he was among the Baganda students who received Kabaka Muteesa who had been deposed in Buganda. Mzee Joseph Kisenyi, a student in the UK then, recalls vividly how as the pianist, Ssenoga mesmerised the distinguished congregation with his musical skills during a thanks-giving service held in honour of the Kabaka at St Martins in the Field Church in Trafalgar Square. “Everyone in attendance marveled at the high level of organisation and talent that we had,†recounts Kisenyi. “He made us all proud.â€
Ssenoga is made a professor of music
On his return from London (1966) after undergoing a three-year training in music, Ssenoga joined the teaching staff of Kenyatta College, which later became a university. He established a music department, which he headed for 14 years. He was later made a professor at the university.