Albert Bisaso Ssempeke
I was born in 1979 in the village of Lutengo, Mukono District, central Uganda, and I grew up in a low-income family with my grandparents as a young child. My grandparents, the late Nalongo Janet, Amukiga from Kabale, and Salongo Stepheno, a refugee from Rwanda, came to Uganda in 1945 in search of work in Kampala, the country's capital. Among the traditional instruments I play are the amadinda, long xylophone, Endingidi, one string fiddle, Endongo bow lyre, and arching harps.
I thus accompany researchers in their work, play in the theatre, teach music, and apparently I am a postgraduate student at Rhodes University studying ethnomusicology. I have also worked as a junior lecturer at International Library of African Music (ILAM).
in the last twenty year I have engaged in various projects globally both academics and none academics, however among the project which includes the revival of the royal court music in conjunction with two swiz scholars Basile and Jules see (Guttridge-Hewitt, 2022) I have taught and continues to teach traditional music, dancing, and instruments to students from across the world. Other exiting project the sound truck for the imperial blue a documentary movie (David Bryceland&Albert Ssempeke, 2019)
Since 1998, I have made the decision to work as a freelance artist. I did this because I realised that I needed time for myself in order to focus on my music and to carve out enough time for my practicing I never intended to insult anyone outside of my field, for that reason. As I already stated, I have dedicated my entire life to playing music, including the fifteen years I spent at the Uganda Museum learning various musical instruments. However, this strategy really encouraged me to concentrate on myself and to figure out how I could advance with my music. But when I got independent, the first thing I did were to build my own recording studio so I could create my own music. In 2000, I got the chance to travel to Europe for the first time on the invitation of the Uganda Austrian Cooperation, participating in a variety of performances and workshops. I was able to perform with the band deishovida after meeting some wonderful musicians on this trip, which was incredibly beneficial for me personally. Various places in Austria as well as nearby countries like the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France were we performed also.
I used the funds I earned from the concert fee for this programme to purchase my studio equipment as I had initially planned. My desire to study music and conduct this research was mostly influenced by my gratitude for my upbringing and the fact that I am related to a famous artist's family (Abadongo). The influential musical ensemble "Abo'luganda Kwagalana," who performed as a cultural performing group, included my father and my uncles. My first performing group was one of the well-known traditional performance troupes that loved Embaga music and dance whenever they could go to perform when I was still in learning and my father couldn't leave me at home, so we always went together.
Because I came from a family of traditional music and dance performers, I thought that music was the only thing left to position myself around. I was compelled to accept whatever topic that would come up, and I was prepared to deal with everything despite the great narratives in my music career.
Learning to play a musical instrument expertly has its drawbacks. I was constantly disturbing my grandma by stealing papaya from her gardens to manufacture flutes and drums and uprooting banana trees to make xylophones. I was experiencing joy as I was learning at this point. My grandfather was the one who first introduced me to playing music, and he would instil a great appreciation in me as I learned to play traditional musical instruments.
In the musical demonstration area of the museum, I spent the majority of my time performing for visitors, who were generally tourists and schoolchildren. Whether I was paid or not, I didn't mind providing entertainment because it was a requirement for excellence and I was more motivated to put in more effort when I realised that everyone watching me considered my instrument playing to be engaging. I also learned that anytime people enjoyed what I was playing, they would offer me advice, which gave me the confidence to learn and improve my instrument-playing.
I used all the knowledge my father had passed on to me to demonstrate traditional music classes to students, societies, and primary and secondary schools in and around Kampala because music had become my profession and the best source of income for my basic necessities. Therefore, I decided to continue participating in various performances on large stages and serving as a resource for academics. I've had a strong interest in learning about Ugandan traditional music, dancing, and instruments for a very long period.
Other ambitions included exploring the globe, participating in musicological research initiatives, and teaching students from other countries. Since then and up until the present, Albert Bisaso Ssempeke has occasionally performed at the National Theatre and in other venues. He has collaborated on various research projects with numerous international academicians, including Professor, Dr. Kubik, Dr. Moya Malamusi, Dr. August, Dr. Rachael Mour, and many others, with a focus on anthropology and ethnomusicology.
In addition to working with many music geniuses internationally, including film companies, music achieves institutions, and Batebu from Kenya with singing wells from the UK and American international renown Banju player Bela Flake in collaborative Album recording in the year 2005, he has also been able to secure collaborative concerts with various foreign Bands. One such band is the "Dishovida Band" from Austria on a project involving Uganda and Austria and i have already indicated before.
Dr. Professor Andrew Tracey, the former director of the International Library of Africa Music, invited Albert Bisaso Ssempeke and his late father Dr. Ssempeke Albert to present the royal court music of the Buganda Kingdom at the 17th symposium on Ethnomusicologist, which took place at ILAM, Rhodes University of South Africa, in 2003. He also introduced me to southern Africa, which I like to think of as my second home.
I've performed in quite few countries throughout the world, including Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the United Kingdom. I have also performed on many occasions, such as wedding celebrations across the country and entertaining the royals in the king's court of Buganda. I have also been involved in various recording projects with a number of artists, including Jesse Hacked, Bela Frake, Beck Khoza, and others.
I began my career as a musician in 1995, when the previous big5 band was the only ensemble capable of blending traditional music with western musical instruments. I joined a different band called Percussion Discussion Africa till the end of the year even though I was playing with many different groups, including the Catholic Church choirs during their competitions, and I had won a number of awards as best instrumentalist (2000). I carried on by instructing various primary and secondary schools traditional musical and dance performances all around the country. I worked with the charitable organisation Kamwokya Christian Caring Community a Catholic Missionary from 2002 to 2004 to assist communities in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS while also offering support to those who were afflicted and bringing the disease into the public's consciousness so that people would be aware of how to safeguard themselves against the pandemic.
To give people new hope, I used my talents in dance, drama, and music (http://www.kamccc.net). I briefly worked as a part-time music demonstrator and instructor at Kabira International School after quitting the organisation. Beginning in 2005, I started working as a freelance artist. I occasionally volunteered at the Uganda National Museum as a music demonstrator and took advantage of the chance to learn more from my uncle Serwanga Rudoviko, the chief musician of the Uganda Museum at the time. I helped him during performances in case audience members requested music. Playing music in the museum was another opportunity, it paved the way for me, getting known by the government officials, embassies of different countries and international visitors it was a great platform for my music career as an instrumentalist.
I started giving solo performances as well as plays and concerts with different ensembles, and I was frequently invited to the royal court to take part in traditional ceremonies. Although I was experiencing a lot at the time, I was sure that these possibilities will help me advance. Even I could acknowledge that this was one of my greatest times: "It wasn't much money, but I could sustain myself and I felt good about it, and that's all that appealed to me."
Since it was advised to "play in as many organisations as possible and not just in one," I never wanted to be committed to just one. I also taught traditional music in about ten primary and secondary schools in Kampala as a way to augment my income. Not until one evening in February 1995 did I make the decision to carry on my father's legacy. I made a pledge to myself that night after having a very weird dream in which my father urged me to carry on his musical heritage.
In 2008, I took part in the Aghakan Schools musician residence programme. In 2010, I was invited to Chileka, Malawi's Center for Ethnographic Research, where I gave a presentation on Ugandan music. With the Albert Bisaso Ssempeke Amadinda Quartet, I performed around Europe in 2009, including in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and the Czech Republic. I also own a musical group called the Buganda Music Ensemble, with which I have travelled overseas and given performances in various locations all across the continent. I've lectured to university students in Vienna, Austria who are pursuing music master's degrees about Ugandan traditional music, dances, and instruments and lastly I can’t forget to recognise the wonderful project of the year 2022 the south African and American musical exchange which made a great opportunity to interact with greet musicians from different circles in recognition of prof Ed and prof Marlstone in particular in memory of Nelson Mandela classical music concerts.
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