My Voice in Contemporary Art Music

I experience contemporary art music as a marriage of two musical cultures, Kiganda of the Baganda in Uganda and the western art music, which have shaped my musical performance and creativity for the last 40 years. This residence will be about sharing this musical experience through the production of a premier performance, completion of an art work and a seminar on my musical style.
The art work to be premiered is entitled: Nakutendanga Emirembe Gyonna (I will Praise You (God) Forever), written in 2015. This work commissioned by Micheal Blake, is written for vibraphone and xylophone. I will work with the musicians to interpret and produce this piece. Working with the musicians will offer an extended opportunity to explain my voice in the piece in ways that I could probably not write down due to limitation of notation systems.
Further, during this residence I will take time to complete a vocal art work entitled: Ggwe Tulinda Atutuuseeko (The Messiah We Have been Waiting for Has Arrived). I will write an accompaniment using strings, xylophone and drums. Finally, I hope to share through a seminar my musical styles focusing on the musical and cultural influences that have shaped my compositional style.