Ugandan flautist to debut new show in the US

The internationally acclaimed flautist will host a series of previews of the musical storytelling show from 15 to 17 March at Carriage House Theatre in the state’s capital ahead of the show’s official premier on 23 March at the University of St Joseph’s Autorino Center, the Hartford Courant reported.

Resilience, which was produced by the HartBeat Ensemble theatre company, cobbles seven stories and seven songs to tell a narrative about positivity and the importance of community.

“The songs accompany the stories. I don’t talk about the songs. I sing in Ugandan, my own language. I also play instruments – the flute, the kalimba, which is like a piano, and the litungu, which is like a harp,” Mulondo told the Hartford Courant.

Mulondo, who was a refugee in Kenya before settling in the US, said the production process of Resilience was emotional at times

“The difficult part of it was reliving the moments. I get sad but then I also get happy. There are no props or costumes, just me talking and playing music. I am bringing people to life onstage – my grandfather for instance. There are images that accompany the story and colours that reflect the mood.”

HartBeat Ensemble member Brian Jennings directed the production. It is produced by the theatre company’s co-founder and Autorino Center director Steven Raider Ginsburg.

“I’ve been a musician for many years,” Mulondo said. “I’m 60 years old now. I’ve performed at orphanages and for rape victims and for those who feel guilty because they’ve killed. I found amazing resilience in those people.

“I found it important to share my experiences and those of the people I had met. I did a TED Talk about it. Steven Raider Ginsburg came to one of my talks and said: ‘We can help you turn this into a one-man show.’ We have been working on this for over two years, with them training me to be a different kind of performer.”

Mulondo has released nine albums and a film score. In 2002 he founded with his wife the Musicians for World Harmony charity organisation, which introduces music to African orphans.  

Mulondo was also the subject of the 1998 PBS documentary Song of the Refugee, which saw him travel to Uganda, Kenya, Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Latvia, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire to work in refugee camps with former child soldiers and AIDS orphans.

A CD compilation of the songs from Resilience will be officially released in June. However, advance copies will be available at the Connecticut shows.