Emmanuel, our teacher by excellence!

Here he comes, ladies and gentlemen!

The pride and shining star of Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe (MCAZ): Emmanuel Mujuru!

He just completed his B.A. in Music from the Great Zimbabwe University, with a first-class degree. He also received the University Award and the Vice Chancellor’s Award for being the best student.

Emmanuel is the head of Pedagogy at the Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe. He studied at the Zimbabwe College of Music and did get his Bachelor of Music degree in Ethnomusicology. Apart from singing, Emmanuel is a songwriter and can play mbira, marimba, keyboard, guitar, recorder flute, and trumpet. He released three music albums, namely, Wedding Bells (1999), Magwaro (2002) and OK Fine (2010).

Keen in participating in the music co-curricular activities at Belvedere Technical Teachers’ College in 1993, Emmanuel switched from teaching Metalwork and English (subjects in which he had received a Merit and Book Award for being the best student and achieving distinctions in each) to Music. In 1997, Emmanuel enrolled for the two-year National Certificate in Music (NCM) at the Zimbabwe College of Music. In 1998, he did not only complete his NCM but also passed ABRSM Theory of Music with a distinction (ABRSM, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music is an examinations board and registered charity based in London, UK, which provides examinations in music around the world). He spurred Zengeza High School to introduce music as an examinable subject in 2007 and this remains the same to this day. In 1997 and 1998, Zengeza High School Choir won national high school choral competitions three times.

Currently, Emmanuel is spreading the Global Music Academy curriculum at Music Crossroads Academy. The curriculum aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice. One of the objectives of the Music Crossroads program is to influence the national schools’ and, recently, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education adopted these ideas from the curriculum. The other objective is to gather information on indigenous music styles, document the materials and donate them to the ministry. This dream has been sponsored, thanks to the German Government through its embassy, and preliminary researchers have commenced on drumming and guitar traditions in Chiweshe and Chitungwiza.

Today, Emmanuel teaches Rhythmic Reading and Writing at the Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe and plays mbira as the main instrument.