Skip to content

Community

What dreams are made of

Help us to get our super talented marimba bands onto the prestigious Artscape stage! They deserve to share a stage with Cape Town’s most talented young musicians.   The Schools Festival is being hosted in August 2018. A panel of adjudicators will select the top routines to perform at a gala event on 30 August which will present a wonderful opportunity for schools to showcase the top talent in their school. MusicWorks wants to send four marimba groups to perform but it is impossible to do so without your help.  The cost for 17 children to present is R3 400 which includes transport to and from the theatre and a meal. We are requesting a donation of R200 per child.  Please click here to make a contribution.   

What it is like growing up in Lavender Hill

It’s not easy growing up in Lavender Hill. Young people in this community are exposed to violence and crime on a daily basis and often don’t have positive role models or a healthy way to express their feelings. Our Music for Life team has been offering marimba and gumboots dance sessions in Lavender Hill for the last three and a half years to help these young people cope with their difficult circumstances. We spoke to some of the teachers, parents, community members and Music for Life participants to find out how the programme is helping the youth in Lavender Hill. A headmaster at a local school told us that the youth of Lavender Hill have “abnormal childhoods” and are “prisoners in their own homes”. They can’t play outside because of the danger of gang violence. They feel frustrated and angry, but don’t have a healthy way of expressing this, so they end up ‘acting out’ at school through bullying and distracting or withdrawn behaviour in class. They see school as a place to play and be children, and the teachers struggle to keep them focused and work. The Music for Life team helps the young people grow in positive ways, by giving them a space… Read More »What it is like growing up in Lavender Hill

A MUSICWORKS SONG! Written and performed by Lize Beekman

This is the story of MusicWorks and it has to be told and heard. It is the story of hope. It is the story of people who use music to open new worlds for children. It is the story of the power of music which gives children second chances. It is the story of children who are taught how to communicate even if they don’t have words. Through the generosity of a longstanding donor, MusicWorks today launches a commercial recording written and performed by well-known South African artist, Lize Beekman. Music has the power to change lives, especially where trauma and violence have disrupted lives. For singer and songwriter Lize Beekman the therapeutic impact of music is a reality she has experienced first-hand. Thus it was an obvious match between Beekman and MusicWorks, as we utilise music as a therapeutic tool to support traumatised, sick and disabled children in communities within broader Cape Town and the Cape Flats areas. MusicWorks has inspired Beekman to compose and record her first commercial song in almost four years. “This is How Music Works” tells the story of how children who have been numbed and silenced by trauma, disability or illness, are helped to find their voice through the… Read More »A MUSICWORKS SONG! Written and performed by Lize Beekman

Sizwe’s Lullabies

A few years ago, MusicWorks ran a programme at Nomzamo Place of Safety in Langa. Nomzamo offered a temporary home for young children who have had to be removed from unsafe home environments. [gap height=”20″] The centre had sunny rooms, colourful walls, and a wonderful group of caring staff. It offered a haven to children who had experienced unspeakable trauma. MusicWorks ran a weekly programme at Nomzamo, consisting of individual music therapy sessions, as well as music sessions with bigger groups of children. Sizwe Lubengu worked as Community Musician on the MusicWorks team at the time. His music sessions where the highlight of a Tuesday morning. Staff would often pop in to the room where the music was happening to witness children laugh, play, sing and dance – as if they had not a care in the world. The staff’s positive feedback on the children’s response to the music sessions made Sizwe think about how music could further permeate life at Nomzamo. He decided to record lullabies that the nurses could play while the children were getting ready for bed at night. With the help of Jo Edgar, a Scottish music therapist volunteering with MusicWorks, Sizwe recorded lullabies in both English and isiXhosa. Parents sing lullabies to their… Read More »Sizwe’s Lullabies

Alive, awake and ready to play

Six-year-old Eliah*, suffering from acute and debilitating cerebral palsy, was admitted to a palliative care centre for children in Cape Town during 2013. Soon thereafter, he was referred to MusicWorks for pain management. [gap height=”20″] Eliah is not able to walk or even move much, as his little body is in continuous spasm. His mouth appears to be fixed in a painful grimace. When admitted, he was also severely neglected and malnourished. During the first two sessions, Eliah was in severe pain. Bedsores and a newly inserted feeding peg caused him huge discomfort. The only sound caregivers ever heard him make was a soft whimpering. A huge smile was Eliah’s first response to our music therapist’s initial approach. She observed his ‘quiet presence’ and glimpses of a perceptive and alive young boy in the broken little body. Music therapist Renee van den Berg explains: “I sang a few songs, with guitar, and in different musical styles. I playfully teased him by suddenly stopping mid-song and asking him what was happening, and was greeted with the broadest and most striking smile every time. Eliah could not move or make a sound, but his responsive expressions said ‘I’m alive, I’m awake and I’m ready to play’.” [hr… Read More »Alive, awake and ready to play