New edition of African Voices features outstanding vocal performers
In what is a reminder of the essence of its name, CNN’s magazine programme, African Voices, will this weekend parade three young Africans who are using their voices to make a statement on the continent and on the global stage.
The three vocal artistes who will be special guests on the programme, sponsored by Globacom, include Sherrie Silver, a dance choreographer, actress, creative director and philanthropist. She is from Rwanda. The rest two are Shifa Amankwah-Gabbey, a spelling bee winner from Ghana, and Pretty Yende, a singer from Mpumalanga, South Africa.
The story of Shifa Amankwah-Gabbey is particularly exciting given her very young age. At just 13 years of age, she is already carving a niche for herself. She won the 2018 National Spelling Bee competition in Ghana. The Junior High School student from Nagie’s Angels Educational Centre in Kumasi beat over 150 other spellers from various schools across the country to win the ultimate prize. She later represented the country in the 91st Scripps Spelling Bee in the United States of America.
Rwanda’s Silver, 24, is the next guest on the show. She declares that she is on “a mission to educate the world about African cultures through the art of dance”. Silver was the brain behind the American singer Childish Gambino’s popular video, This is America. The video has attracted more than 540 million views on YouTube to date.
The choreographer, a winner of multiple awards, is currently driving a social media campaign to promote investments among Africa’s young people in the rural areas.
The third guest on this weekend’s African Voices is Yende who is described as a ‘modern fairy-tale’. She was born in 1985 in the small town of Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, South Africa. A soprano singer, her climb to the top of the opera world is quite fast, having performed leading roles at opera houses internationally including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
She was inspired to learn opera at age 16 after seeing a British Airways TV advertisement that made a heavy impression on her young mind. She thereafter went to theSouth African College of Music where she graduated with honours. She also attended the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
The programme airs on the CNN channel on DSTV from 9.30 a.m. on Friday with repeats on Saturday at 12.30 a.m., 4.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. Other repeat broadcasts come up on Sunday, 5.00 a.m., 9.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. Further repeats are on Monday and Tuesday at 5.00 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. respectively.
