Forward Kwenda
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Biography
Forward Kwenda, a mbira performer from Zimbabwe, was born in the rural Buhera area of Manicaland. He was interested in traditional dance and poetry, and began playing ngoma drums and hosho gourd rattles at the age of 10. By 1984, he had moved to Harare and formed his own mbira group, gaining recognition through national radio performances and mapira ceremonies. In 1985, he began playing a style considered within earlier Shona musical traditions, which was recorded by American musician Glenn Makuna. Kwenda toured the United States with Erica Azim in 1997, recording Svikiro - Meditations From An Mbira Master. He performed at the Kennedy Center in February 2000 and toured North America with Azim from 2000-2002. In 2019, Kwenda coauthored the book, Learn to Play Mbira with Andy Fowler, and launched mbira.online in January 2020 to archive mbira music.
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