H A P P Y

A F R I C A

D A Y

Garth Prince
SPRING NEWSLETTER 2013
Garth Prince is an Award-Winning African singer based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. WWW.GARTHPRINCE.COM | info@garthprince.com

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African Musicians visit Edmonton

Our City has become a go-to place for African artists to stop by. I have been privileged to be in the midst of it all as I am often the one called upon to open the shows for many of them. Here is an example of just a few who passed by Edmonton recently.

Saturday May 25 is AFRICA DAY!

On May 25th, 1963, leaders from 30 African countries came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and founded the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The date has been retained as a celebration of African unity ever since. The date is observed as a public holiday in Ghana, Mali, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Celebrations are held all over Africa, as well as by Africans in the diaspora.

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OLIVER TUKU MTUKUDZI (FROM ZIMBABWE) DATE: MAY 4th 2013 VENUE: HELLENIC CENTRE EDMONTON 10450 116 St

In this Issue:
An African Dinner Event. Page 5
Mention that you want to be at the Garth Prince table! (Limited)

Meet an African Happy Africa Superstar. Page 4 Day. Page 3

Kidum, a Kora (African Grammy) artist gives our band a workshop. Read the lyrics to my song, written to teach everyone about Africa Day.

KIDUM (FROM BURUNDI) DATE: MAY 18th 2013 VENUE: PORTUGUESE HALL EDMONTON 12964 52 STREET

THE GARTH PRINCE NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

Heres what Ive been up to:

Since my last (winter) newsletter I have been hard at work. Below is a summary with some of my highlights.

NBCC Edmonton Award

This year, I was honored to receive the Fil Fraser Award from the National Black Coalition of Canada (NBCC) Edmonton Chapter. The award recognizes outstanding work in Literary, Performing and/or Visual Arts by a member of the black community in Edmonton. (NBCC Edmonton is the organization responsible for the Black History Month programming in Edmonton.) www.nbccedmonton.ca

My first seat on a Jury Panel

The exact details are confidential, but I will say that I was flattered when asked to help make important funding decisions for a government department. Not the typical work I expected to get as a musician, but definitely an awesome learning experience.

Voices of Nature

What better way to celebrate spring than working with some musicians who are on a mission to save our planet. The B.C. - based Artist Response Team works in schools across Canada, teaching children about environmental sustainability. They plan to teach their music to Edmonton musicians, who can in turn do school concerts across Alberta on their behalf. I was recommended to them by the Alberta Touring Alliance and since then, I have been learning from them. www.artistresponseteam.com

More Adventures
I have been busy performing and delivering workshops in a variety of Edmonton venues. Those include: Churchill Square, The Africa Centre, Norwood School, The Centre for Spiritual Living, and Fort Edmonton Park. You may have also caught a glimpse of my family and me in the Edmonton journal. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to catch my Barbecue Song on CBC Radio.
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Picture from the Edmonton Journal

THE GARTH PRINCE NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

RESOURCES FOR YOU Happy Africa Day - LYRICS

This song was written to teach listeners some basic information about Africa Day. To listen to the song and sing along, search Garth Prince on iTunes or order your physical copy from WWW.GARTHPRINCE.COM. Happy Africa Day Written and composed by Garth Prinsonsky Like a flower smiling in the sun, Africa this is your time to shine. Although there's growing pains, rainbows follow the rain. This is the time to unite. No longer to fight. *Madiba show us the way to show love, though we feel the pain from the past. To the fathers who lost so many sons, and the mothers please hold on. Happy Africa Day. Hey Algeria and Angola. Happy Africa Day. Benin, Botswana. Happy Africa Day. Burkina Faso and Burundi. Happy Africa Day. Cameroon, Cape Verde. Happy Africa, Happy Africa, Happy Africa Day. The Organization of African Unity, May 25, 1963. If you didnt know, then now you know. This is the day we celebrate. To my brothers and sisters all over the world. I hope and I pray that you one day return to the Motherland. And make a difference if you can. Happy Africa Day. Chad and Congo and Djibouti. Happy Africa Day. Egypt and Guinea. Happy Africa Day. Ethiopia and Eritrea. Happy Africa Day. Gabon and Gambia. Happy Africa Day. Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali Mauritius. Happy Africa Day. Morocco, Mozambique hey Namibia! Happy Africa Day. Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda. Happy Africa Day. Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone. Happy Africa Day. Somalia, South Africa, Sudan. Happy Africa Day. Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia. Happy Africa Day. Uganda, Zambia. Happy Africa Day. Zanzibar. Happy Africa Day Zimbabwe. Yelele... Happy Africa Happy Africa Happy Africa Day. *Madiba: The nickname for Nelson Mandela (former South African president)

Want to Listen to African Music on Radio?

Try the local (Edmonton) show: NEXT AMBIENCE CJSR FM 88.5 Wednesdays 6pm to 7pm GARTH PRINCE Interview: 29 May 2013
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THE GARTH PRINCE NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

A Workshop with Kidum

Pictures by Jessica Wu.

About Jean Pierre Nimbona (a.k.a. Kidum):

Last year at the Kora Awards (considered the African Grammy Awards), Kidum won BEST EAST AFRICAN MALE ARTIST. He is described as singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, master-drummer and world peace ambassador. Personally, I can add that he is very down to earth, has a great sense of humor, and is a brilliant musician. Read more about Kidum at: www.kidumkibido.com

Band Members:
Several of my band members were able to attend. The ones who made it were JOEL FORTH (guitar & songwriting), KEITH REMPEL (bass), ELISE RENEAU (vocals), BILL MITCHELL and DWAYNE HRYNKIW (percussion).

Outcomes:
Kidum taught us two of his songs: KICHUNA and UMENIKOSEA, both love songs. The latter is one of his biggest hits in Kenya. It is a story about a man so brokenhearted, that he made a decision to never love again. Then, Kidum listened to two of our songs and gave us some new examples of African percussion rhythms that we can add. After all, Kidum is a Master Drummer. We made videos of some of the songs and currently, The Barbecue Song video clip is getting much attention on the Internet. All the videos can be seen on Facebook and/or www.garthprince.com/okapi-jambo
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Future Collaboration:
Chantal Hitayezu is the community organizer responsible for bringing Kidum to Edmonton. She can be reached at 780-819-4015. Kidum frequently visits Edmonton and has asked Chantal to arrange that from now on, our band play with him for all his Alberta appearances.

THE GARTH PRINCE NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

THE GARTH PRINCE NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

Garth Prince CD Review

Award winning Namibian singer Garth Prince struck up his solo career after moving to Canada in 2008. Incorporating teachings of his strong connection to African culture with his live performances, he brings an enthusiastic presence to his music both on stage and on record, which you can now experience with the release of his 12 song self titled album. Listen on as Garths soothingly sweet voice takes you away with Amazing . If You Can Walk You Can Dance is an upbeat tune, strong with an African vibe and positive message. Happy Africa Day and The Barbecue Song both have a celebratory dance party feel about them, not to mention those delicious r-r-rumba style tongue rolls. The Fork In The Road is a smooth, cruisy song thats perfect for lightening any travel mood dampened by peak hour traffic. Donating a portion of the proceeds to HIV/AIDS awareness in his hometown in Namibia, Garths pursuit of World Music for a Better World shines through in the energy and emotion-filled performances he gives. Theres an incredibly soulful sweetness with a dash of keyboard, guitar, drums and pure passion. Garths album is an all round beautiful experience.

Visit WWW.GARTHPRINCE.COM Order your copy today!

African Proverb: We face neither East nor West. We face FORWARD. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghanas first president). The Garth Prince Newsletter. Subscribe at WWW.GARTHPRINCE.COM. PRINCE GARTH MUSIC: All Rights Reserved
E-mail: info@garthprince.com www.facebook.com/princegarthmusic www.youtube.com/princegarthmusic www.twitter.com/princegarth
Originally from NAMIBIA, Garth Prince is now based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Services include concerts and workshops for schools, live venues and festivals across Canada.