Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
03 January 2020
|
Story Xolisa Mnukwa
|
Photo Supplied
The UFS Bloemfontein Campus, South Campus, and Qwaqwa Campus choirs are student-centred choirs functioning under the Student Affairs’ Arts, Culture and Dialogue office.
It has been a noteworthy year for the University of the Free State (UFS) Choir, establishing itself on the student/university choir scene. The choir, based on the Bloemfontein Campus, represented the UFS at the bi-annual KUESTA choir festival earlier this year, showcasing its musical talent. The choir shared a stage with other university choirs from around the country.
The UFS (Bloemfontein Campus) Choir is a 42-member ensemble of students; the other two choirs, based on the South and Qwaqwa campuses, consist of 40 and 62 members respectively. The choirs are administered and managed by the Division of Student Affairs’ Arts, Culture and Dialogue Office. In addition to Kovsie culture, the choirs strive to have a varied repertoire of inclusive music, with the UFS BFN Campus choir performing a diversity of songs in English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, and Sesotho.
The new South Campus choir was established in 2018 and is led by choir director, Bonisile Gcisa, who specialises in choral music. This leg of the choir will therefore perform many of his works, but will also include some of the Bloemfontein choir’s set lists, since most of the choir members will be auditioning in 2021 for the Bfn choir when they change campuses.
The Qwaqwa Campus choir will lean more towards a choral genre under the direction of Sipho Khumalo.
The UFS Bloemfontein Campus choir was officially re-established under the leadership of choir conductor Leona Geldenhuys in March 2018, and has performed at several events, including the Rector’s Concert, the annual KUESTA choir convention, and the Bloemfontein Choir invitational. The group has also held a number of public performances on the Thakaneng Bridge at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.
“Part of the UFS Student Affairs’ objective is to create an inclusive and a socially just student lived experience, and that is the mandate the choirs will also adopt. We hope to create an experience that not only enhances our students’ singing abilities, but also contribute to a more inclusive university experience.” – Angelo Mockie – Director: UFS Student Affairs Arts, Culture and Dialogue office.
“Rest well, be safe, and return rejuvenated,” were his parting words to students for the festive season.
UFS History lecturer becomes Visiting Fellow at Harvard
2015-05-25
Dr Chitja Twala
Photo: Eugene Seegers |
Prestige Scholar and lecturer of African/South African History at the UFS, Dr Chitja Twala, was recently accepted as a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
A Visiting Fellow status is available to individuals holding a doctoral degree to pursue independent research at Harvard. The Fellowship is for non-degree purposes but aims at the enhancement and further intellectual development of those involved. It focuses on enrichment and development programmes.
Twala was appointed in the Department of History at the UFS in the beginning of 2003. His research field is Liberation History, with specific reference to the liberation movements on the SADC region. He has published extensively on this field and presented papers in local and international conferences.
“I applied (to Harvard GSAS) in April 2014 for the Fellowship through the South Africa Harvard Fellowship Programme,” says Twala.
“After being successful in the interviews conducted by the GSAS panel in July 2014, I had to apply for admission in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard, and got accepted for the Fall Semester of 2015.”
At Harvard, Twala will be mentored by Prof Emmanuel Akyeampong (African History Expert).
“Firstly, my main assignment will be to grasp a much deeper theoretical knowledge/framework in historical studies and a broader repertoire of methodologies in the field of African History. Secondly, if time permits, I will be presenting seminars and attending some in a very challenging, stimulating, and intellectually demanding environment where my ideas can be tested and expanded. Thirdly, I will be exposed to new trends as far as African historiography is concerned. Lastly, I will informally engage and exchange some ideas with some experts in the field of African History.”
The programme was recommended to Twala by the Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen and Prof Ian Phimister, Centre for Africa Studies Senior Professor at UFS.
“As per the priorities of the Prestige Scholarship Programme, the Fellowship will assist in inculcating in me the intellectual breadth and depth required to pose critical questions and generate ground-breaking knowledge for History as a discipline. It is important for the UFS to establish and sustain international networks with other leading universities and scholars around the world.
“I applied for this Fellowship in order to advance further and broaden the scope in the three areas of scholarship in higher education: discovery, teaching, and public engagement,” says Twala.
Twala will be leaving for Harvard by mid-August and will return by the end of December 2015.