James K. Makubuya (born in

Gayaza Gayaza is a town in Wakiso District in the Buganda Region of Uganda. Location Gayaza is in the North Kyaddondo Constituency, Kyaddondo County. The town is approximately , north-east of Kasangati, on the ''Kampala–Ziroobwe Road''. This is ...

Wakiso District Wakiso District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda that partly encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The town of Wakiso is the site of the district headquarters. Kira Town, Kira, the count ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

) is an

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, and choreographer. He plays several traditional instruments from various parts of Uganda, including the ''

endongo The ''endongo'' is a musical instrument, considered the List of national instruments (music), national instrument of the Baganda people of Uganda. It is a member of a family of lyres which can be found, with variations, in many areas throughout Ea ...

'' (8-string bowl lyre) and '' adungu'' (9-string bow harp), ''

endingidi The endingidi (endingiri in Runyankole) is a type of bowed string instrument native to Uganda. The endingidi has one string, extending from the neck to a cylindrical sound-box or resonator made of wood or cow horn. A piece of hide is stretched ov ...

'' (1-string tube fiddle), '' amadinda'' (12-slab log xylophone), '' akogo'' (lamellaphone), and '' engoma'' (drums).

Early life

Makubuya was born in the town of Gayaza (located 30 km from

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, near

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

, in the

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the List of current non-sovereign African monarchs, traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Ug ...

region of Uganda), and is a member of the

Baganda The Baganda (endonym: ''Baganda''; singular ''Muganda''), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans (although since a 1993 survey, only 46 are officially recognised), th ...

ethnic group.

Education

He holds a B.A. in music and English literature from

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

in Kampala, Uganda (1980); a Master of Music degree in Western music and music education from

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(1988), and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(1995). His main research focuses on organological studies in which has written many scholarly papers, including a comparative study of East African bowl lyres, bow harps, and tube fiddles.

Career

He has taught at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(1996-2000), where he founded the ensemble, and is an Associate Professor of Music at

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville () is a city in Montgomery County, Indiana, Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The c ...

, where he directs the WAMIDAN ensemble. Makubuya performs in a

cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to: *cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis *cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing culture, cultural backgrounds communicate * ...

duo with Chinese ''

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...

'' performer

Wu Man Wu Man (; born January 2, 1963) is a Chinese pipa player and composer. Trained in Pudong-style pipa performance at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, she is known for playing in a broad range of musical styles and introducing the pip ...

. His ''Abadongo'', for ''endongo'', '' mbuutu'', and string quartet was performed at the University of California by the composer and the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

. He has recorded three solo CDs and appears as a guest artist on a fourth (''Wu Man and Friends'', 2005). His music has also been featured in several films, including ''

Mississippi Masala ''Mississippi Masala'' is a 1991 romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores ...

'' (1991).https://www.discogs.com/release/8817362-Various-Mississippi-Masala-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack?srsltid=AfmBOooRHul1vXytOzBO15O41sPg_EGLR3TOAIbzR4Mo8F7QDWPrJI_Q

Writings

*Makubuya, James (1995). "Endongo: The Role and Significance of the Baganda Bowl Lyre of Uganda." Los Angeles, California: University of California, Los Angeles. Ph.D. dissertation.

Discography

*1993 - ''The Uganda Tropical Beat I'' *1989 - ''African Odyssey'' (

Music of the World Music of the World is a World music record label that was active from 1982 to 2000. The company produced over 100 CDs and cassettes of traditional and contemporary artists from around the world. Nomad and Latitudes were imprint labels. ''Music of ...

) *1998 - ''Taata Wange'' *2000 - ''Watik, Watik: Music from Uganda''.

*2005 - ''Wu Man and Friends''. Traditional Crossroads.

References

External links

James Makubuya page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makubuya, James Ugandan musicians Ugandan emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ethnomusicologists UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni Montgomery County, Indiana Wabash College faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Catholic University of America alumni