In continuation of the celebration of the brightest and best on the African continent, three vocal artistes will this weekend field questions on African Voices, a CNN magazine programme sponsored by the grandmasters of data, Globacom.
The trio are Sherrie Silver, a dance choreographer, actress, creative director and philanthropist from Rwanda; Ghana’s Shifa Amankwah-Gabbey, a spelling bee winner, and Pretty Yende, a singer from Mpumalanga, South Africa.
24-year-old Silver, who says she is on “a mission to educate the world about African cultures through the art of dance”, is the mastermind of American singer Childish Gambino’s provocative video, This is America. The video has attracted more than 540 million views on YouTube to date.
The award-winning choreographer is currently driving a social media campaign to promote investments among rural Africa’s young people.
13-year-old Shifa Amankwah–Gabbey, the second guest, emerged winner of 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 clinch the prize. She subsequently represented the country in the 91st Scripps Spelling Bee in the United States of America.
The third guest on African Voices, a soprano, Pretty Yende, who was born in 1985, is described as a ‘modern fairy-tale’. Her ascendancy to the top of the opera world is supersonic, having performed leading roles at opera houses internationally including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
Yende was inspired to learn opera at the age of 16 after seeing a British Airways TV advertisement that made a heavy impression on her young mind. She thereafter enrolled at the South African College of Music. She also attended the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
African Voices 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. with more repeats on Monday at 5.30 a.m. and on Tuesday at 6 30 p.m.
