For Immediate Release

Contact:         Maryjane Briant
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway, N.J. 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu
                        (609) 652-4593
                        stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. - A noted educator and jazz pianist who is a specialist in African music will be visiting Stockton University this month for a residency which includes two public events, workshops for Stockton students and visits to local schools, churches and community groups.

Benon Kigozi, a senior staff member at the Department of Performing Arts and Film at Makerere University in Uganda, will be at Stockton from Feb. 11-23. He is president of the Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (PASMAE), president of the Uganda Society for Musical Arts Education (USMAE), and chair for Music In Africa Foundation on Education and Content.  He previously served as head of Music at Africa University in Zimbabwe.

As a jazz pianist, he has performed in 14 countries including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Kenya, South Africa, Djibouti, Nigeria, China, Malaysia, Tanzania, Norway, Botswana, Spain and Zanzibar.  During his stay at Stockton, he will perform during his presentations both on- and off- campus, including a choral workshop at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Pleasantville on Feb. 16.

As visiting lecturer, Kigozi has presented research papers and conducted workshops at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, Texas Tech University, University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Cambridge University and the University of Glasgow in the U.K., Kabarak University in Kenya, University of Pretoria in South Africa, Kyambogo University in Uganda, Africa University, and in other countries including Greece, China, Malaysia and Italy.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our music program at Stockton and for our community at-large,” said Beverly Vaughn, professor of Music, who organized the visit and after receiving funding from the university’s 2020 Initiatives program.  “Thanks to a 2020 global grant, this is the first time the Music program has been able to bring in such an eminent specialist in African music traditions,” she said, adding that Kigozi is one of the continent’s leading music educators.

“During his music residency, Dr. Kigozi is scheduled to do class presentations, lectures and workshops at Stockton, and make presentations and give music workshops at several local schools, area churches and community organizations,” Vaughn said.  “We are excited about this residency as we will believe it will enrich our curriculum and community.”

His current research is in technology in music education.  He is doing “ground-breaking research in the adaption of the latest technology models in K-12 music education, with particular emphasis on its application in a 21st century East African country such as Uganda,” Vaughn explained  “This research and/or application can be further expanded to address questions of technological implementation in music education throughout the continent.”

He will present a free, public workshop, “A Sampling of Ugandan and East African Singing Music Traditions and Performance Practices,” on  Monday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Alton Auditorium. This is sponsored by the Music program.

He will give a free, public lecture, “Indigenous Knowledge Systems as a Way of Africanizing Music Arts Education through Technology,” on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 4:30 p.m. in Room F111, sponsored by the Global Studies minor.

There will be a “meet and greet” reception following the lecture co-sponsored by the African Students Association and the Music Program.

Support for this residency is also provided by the School of Arts and Humanities, Africana Studies, the NAACP, the Unified Black Students Society, and the Highest Praise Gospel Choir.