EXCELLENCE, CONVENIENCE AND TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS

These past few weeks have been good for me. They certainly made me realize that I need to maximize productivity but still maintain producing work that is of excellent quality-not a very easy value to maintain…When I first started my internship at the SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts I was very concerned with the quantity of work I was producing. I guess my understanding of data capturing was that shallow. Noeléne Kotzé quickly observed this and then advised me to be conscious of quantity but become more quality driven. She truly stands for SAMRO’s organizational values that I highlighted as the title of this post. She inspired me to think more like an ambassador for SAMRO. As I checked my work, I realized that it is so easy to make a mistake and fixing that mistake is additional time spent. Technology does help in identifying mistakes more rapidly and improving the presentation of the work. By the end of this week, I must have made time to explore other computer software that will make my work more excellent and convenient for those who may explore the SAMRO music archive in the future.

It is increasingly important for me to understand the way the organization works and ask questions about certain issues relating to the organisation’s mandate that I am unsure of. I read samro’s seasonal magazine called “Notes”. It helped me to have a better view of each structure at SAMRO and how it fits into the organization. It was helpful to note and have a clearer understanding of SAMRO’s sales and marketing department regarding their current achievements and goals. At the end of the day, people that I socialize with will ask me questions about SAMRO and expect answers they can trust. The research skills I acquired from university do help because instead of waiting for information to come to us, we seek to find it in order to improve the way we do things. The challenge for me at the moment is time management. Lately, I do less ethnomusicological work than I would like when I get home. I work better when I don’t turn my tasks into a routine but I realize that I need a time table so....ja. I’m thinking of doing a monthly plan and then slightly changing it once a month. What do you think?

VALUE IN COMPOSITIONS: from yesterday to the present

Yesterday, I was listening to Donny Hathaway’s CD. Some of the songs he sang are titled ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Superwoman’. None of them are his compositions but the way he sang them was as if he was the one that composed them. Through the songs, he represented his soul and shared it with his audience. Just when you think that a song you like can never be performed any better, another performer personalizes it and gives it a new feeling and interpretation that makes one fall in love with the song and the performer all over again. This is one of the reasons why I love music and the creativity involved in its spiritual dimension. I am so greatful for recieving my stipend from the National Lottery because it empowered me to support musicians and take care of some family obligations. After hearing Donny Hathaway's version of superwoman, I was sold! I did not even bother listening any further.

Donny Hathaway just captures you emotionally because he is one with the song. He sounds so sincere and although in the live recording, the audience is screaming (because of the emotions the performance evokes out of them) at various points of his performance, he is just not distracted. It is as if he is in a state of a trance because he is intensely focused in communicating what this song has to say. I believe that he gracefully carry’s his audience’s soul using his velvety, warm voice. His band supports his mission so simplistically, with technical brilliance, and yet so emotionally effective.

This makes me realize just how far I am in my Afrikaans Music Study because the ethnomusicologist has to internalize the music in order to understand the creator’s point of view. I still have to overcome the language barrier. I guess I should be more patient with myself.

Reflecting back on the music industry, as I read the headlines on the Music Industry Online magazine a few minutes ago, I came across the Composers’ Association of South Africa’s (CASA’s) announcement about the General Meeting they are holding for composers that is taking place on the 16th of July 2008. I then explored their website and came across the Quest Worldwide Production Music. I am so thankful for such international organizations that publish composers’ music to film, television and radio media worldwide. I am aware that SENA (SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts) is looking at scanning and digitizing music scores in its goal to promote the use of the Southern African music archives. I wonder what strategy the SAMRO archive is looking at regarding promoting the reproduction of the music in the archives so that it is at an internationally accepted level. The reproduction of this music may increase the scope of the use of background music for the international market. This may further increase our audience and force a lot of South African musicians to increase their standard of performance.