Langa resident Dizu Plaatjies, who is a traditional musician and head of African Music: Practical Studies UCT’s South African College of Music, has been awarded a ministerial lifetime Achievement Award by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS).
Dizu, a founder and former leader marimba group, Amampondo, is a College of Music alumnus and has now returned to lecture. Amampondo put traditional South African music on the international map in the 1980s.
On leaving Amampondo, he started a new ensemble, Ibuyambo, with which he has toured the world for the past decade. He and Ibuyambo are the recipients of two South African Music Awards (SAMAs), for the albums African Kings and Ubuntu – The Common String. The DCAS hosts the awards annually to recognise and celebrate cultural, linguistic and heritage excellence in the province.
Dizu said he was very excited to receive this award and wanted to use it to motivate other artists to appreciate traditional music.
“To me this awards says I must carry on nurturing young talent so that future generations can taste what we do now,” he added.